Yerkin Tukumov, Director of the KazISS under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Kakha Imnadze, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Central Asia and Head of the Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia, discussed further strengthening of joint cooperation.
Yerkin Tukumov noted with satisfaction the current level of co-operation. “We will further strengthen our contacts, continue joint co-operation. Kazakhstan participates in discussions on water issues, on security of the Central Asian region. KazISS is represented in the expert discussion of all regional topics”.
Kakha Imnadze emphasised that the UNRCCA, within the framework of its mandate, makes an important contribution to building confidence and co-operation among Central Asian states. “This year is very interesting in the world, especially in Kazakhstan, in many directions – Kazakhstan is chairing several international organisations at once, such as the OTS, SCO, CICA, CSTO and others. Our programmes touch upon issues of the entire region – this is the shared use of water resources, the impact of climate on the Central Asian region. These issues should undoubtedly be discussed at the expert level”.
The participants of the meeting agreed to strengthen further cooperation and discussed plans to hold a joint event – the Central Asian Expert Forum in the summer of this year. The next, already VII, CAEF will be the main platform for forming a common expert position on a number of topical issues of the region’s development, as well as developing recommendations for the upcoming Consultative Meeting of Heads of State of Central Asia in Astana.
The sides noted the importance of including the issues of regional cooperation in separate sectors in the agenda of the Forum. The participants of the meeting expressed hope that the forum will further increase the level of mutual understanding between the countries of the region, as well as help stimulate the adoption of joint actions to address common challenges.
