MOSCOW, Russian Federation
On 16-17 April 2026, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Central Asia, Head of UNRCCA, Kaha Imnadze, paid a working visit to Moscow and had meetings with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Alimov, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galusin, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin, Director of the Department for International Organizations Kirill Logvinov, Director of the Department for New Threats and Challenges Petr Ilychev, Director of the Third Department of the Commonwealth of Independent States Aleksandr Sternik, and with the Special Representative of the President of Russian Federation for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov. He also met with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Sergey Lebedev, and with the Deputy Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, Samat Ordabaev.
During the meetings the sides exchanged views on the general situation in Central Asia and latest developments both in Central Asia and in wider region. SRSG Imnadze also briefed the counterparts on the ongoing and planned activities of the Centre, such as combatting terrorism and violent extremism, transboundary water management and implications of the climate change for the region, advancing cooperation on youth in Central Asia, and the work of the Central Asian Women Leaders' Caucus. The sides also touched upon the implications of the conflict in the Middle East on the region, and situation in Afghanistan in terms of security and stability for Central Asia and beyond. The Russian side expressed its support to UNRCCA's activities in the region, and underlined an important role the Regional Centre plays in supporting multilateral cooperation and trust-building among the states of the region. The parties underscored the importance of regular exchanges on topics related to ensuring peace and security in Central Asia, and in a wider geographical area.
