ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Murat Nurtleu held talks on July 12 regarding regional security issues with Vladimir Voronkov, United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), reported the Foreign Ministry’s press service.
Natalia Gherman, Executive Director of the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), also took part in the meeting. The visit of the UN representatives coincided with the two-day Central Asian Security and Cooperation Forum.
Discussions covered the situation in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan’s humanitarian operations Jusan and Rusafa, cooperation with the UNOCT and the CTED, and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia on preventing and countering violent extremism.
The parties spoke about Kazakhstan’s initiative to establish a UN Regional Center for Sustainable Development in Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.
Voronkov and Kazakh Ambassador-at-Large of the Foreign Ministry Talgat Kaliyev chaired a briefing on the same day for the diplomatic corps and international organizations accredited in Kazakhstan to raise awareness about the UNOCT’s work and help Central Asia to counter new challenges and threats.