SRSG NATALIA GHERMAN VISITS THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

SRSG Natalia Gherman with H.E. Ms. Dariga Nazarbayeva, Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan

6 Sep 2019

SRSG NATALIA GHERMAN VISITS THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

NUR-SULTAN/Kazakhstan

On 3 and 4 September 2019, SRSG Natalia Gherman made an official visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan. She met with H.E. Ms. Dariga Nazarbayeva, Speaker of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and H.E. Mr. Beibut Atamkulov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to discuss issues relating to current and future cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United Nations. She also met with the Ambassadors of the Russian Federation and the United States of America, as well as the United Nations Country Team in Kazakhstan.

In each meeting, she discussed issues of regional cooperation in the fields of peace and security, counter-terrorism, water and energy, among other issues. Special attention was paid to UNRCCA’s efforts to support the countries of the region in harnessing the potential of women and young people to support peace and security throughout Central Asia. 

SRSG Natalia Gherman specifically presented the Regional Centre’s new initiatives focused on supporting the wider involvement of women and youth in peacebuilding as well as preventing and resolving conflicts. Youth have huge potential in this regard, as those under the age of 29 make up more than 50% of the population of Central Asia and even more in neighbouring Afghanistan. In order to build linkages between UNRCCA and young people throughout the region, particularly those in border communities around the region, the Centre is launching the UNRCCA Prevention Academy to help train and support young people in Central Asia and Afghanistan in the tools of preventive diplomacy to reduce the risk of conflict and have a positive impact in their communities far into the future.

During her meetings, SRSG Natalia Gherman also devoted particular attention to key issues of joint and rational management of transboundary water resources in Central Asia. She highlighted UNRCCA’s recently developed strategy on water, designed to maximize the positive dynamics in the region and support the countries of Central Asia in finding mutually beneficial ways to make the region more secure, stable and prosperous while working towards new understandings on trans-boundary water management, particularly under conditions of global climate change. 

Both Speaker Dariga Nazarbayeva and Minister Beibut Atamkulov expressed the full support of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNRCCA’s ongoing work and new initiatives that foster dialogue and cooperation in the region.