Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko held a meeting with the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA) headed by the Special Representative on Central Asia Farah Karimi during her visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan. Along with members of the national parliaments of the Netherlands and Spain, deputies from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan also participated in the meeting, press service of the Kazakh MFA reports.
The parties discussed the issues of combating climate change, the use of transboundary water resources, the development of clean energy and the promotion of the role of women and youth in the political life of the country as topics selected by the OSCE PA delegation as special priorities for this visit.
In this context, Roman Vassilenko informed about the plans of Kazakhstan and France to hold the One Water Summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this autumn and the regional climate summit under UN auspices in Kazakhstan in 2026. He also devoted special attention to the measures taken by the Kazakh Government to address water issues in the region, including as chair of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) in 2024-2026, and the joint efforts of the Central Asian countries in this area.
In turn, Farah Karimi noted the proactive position of Kazakhstan in the development of cooperation with its neighbours and, in the context of the preparation of the 6th Consultative Meeting of the Heads of Central Asian States in Astana this year, stressed the special importance of this process for the further development of constructive cooperation at the regional level. She also expressed hope for a deeper involvement of parliamentarians in the protection of women’s rights in society.
Karimi welcomed the active work of Kazakh parliamentarians in the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, expressing her wish for its further expansion. The interlocutors highlighted the contribution of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to the development of the OSCE PA when he was its Vice-President in 2008-2011, and Askar Shakirov, who until recently also served as Vice-President of the OSCE PA.
In conclusion, the parties agreed to continue active cooperation within the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE as a whole.
The program of the visit includes meetings of the OSCE PA delegation with the leadership of the Senate and the Mazhilis of the Parliament, the National Commission for Women and Family and Demographic Policy under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the ministries of health, ecology and natural resources, culture and information of Kazakhstan. Negotiations of the OSCE PA delegation with the leadership of the Regional Environmental Center of Central Asia and the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea are also planned.
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