ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu met with Kaha Imnadze, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), who arrived in Astana to participate in the Interregional Dialogue on the Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Returnees from Conflict Zones on April 29.
Murat Nurtleu and Kaha Imnadze. Photo credit: gov.kz
According to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service, the parties discussed key areas of cooperation between Kazakhstan and the UNRCCA, regional security issues, sustainable development, and preparations for joint initiatives.
Nurtleu emphasized the center’s important role in fostering dialogue among Central Asian countries and reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s commitment to advancing a consistent and meaningful regional agenda.
He noted that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has repeatedly stressed the UN’s indispensable and central coordinating role in addressing global challenges, especially amid growing geopolitical turbulence.
In the context of the UN’s 80th anniversary, Nurtleu reiterated Kazakhstan’s support for the global UN80 initiative aimed at rethinking the organization’s role in today’s world. He also underscored Kazakhstan’s efforts to promote renewed multilateralism, strengthen cooperation with the UN, and develop regional approaches to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In this regard, both parties agreed to strengthen collaboration between the UNRCCA and the new UN Regional Centre for the SDGs for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty. Its establishment was endorsed by the UN General Assembly resolution on March 4.
Imnadze thanked Kazakhstan for its continued support of the UNRCCA and its contributions to intra-regional dialogue. Both sides reaffirmed their readiness to advancing common goals under the UN mandate and wished each other fruitful cooperation.
