Kazakhstan participated in UNSC meeting on Afghanistan

The meeting started with a minute of silence to commemorate the victims of the recent terrorist acts in Kabul. The Council’s members condemned the attacks and called on the international community to pool together their efforts to combat the threat of terrorism. They also expressed concern regarding the increasing number of civilian casualties caused by the activity of terrorists and other armed groups. It was noted that the activities of terrorist and extremist elements resulted in maintaining unstable situation in the country and posed a threat not only to Afghanistan but to the whole region.

In his address, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UN Kairat Umarov emphasized that our country remains firmly committed to the concept of stable, secure and prosperous Afghanistan. He noted the necessity of Afghan-owned and led political process and involvement of international community and the states of the region in the process of resolving the situation in the country.

Umarov stressed that the situation in Afghanistan remains unstable owing to instability and high risk of terrorist acts as well as the growth in illegal production and trafficking of drugs, which imply negative outcomes for the whole Central Asia region. He also praised the work of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and Almaty-based Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CARICC).

Underlining the inextricable link between the issues of security and development, Kazakh delegation drew the UNSC members’ attention to the initiatives of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev regarding assistance to Afghanistan and strengthening the regional and global security architecture.

In addition, the diplomats proposed to carefully review the project of establishment of a UN regional center on the ground of the existing international structures in Almaty.  The center could coordinate targeted humanitarian and economic assistance to Afghanistan and Central Asian states.

In the context of Kazakhstan’s assistance to Afghanistan, it should be reminded that our country has launched an extensive educational program for Afghan youth. As many as 1,000 Afghan students were allowed to obtain high-quality education at Kazakhstani institutions. Moreover, a joint project of Kazakhstan and Japan together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was presented in Kabul in February 2017. It is focused on strengthening of Afghan women’s economic self-sufficiency and their in-Kazakhstan training for public administration and health care. The initiative has also become a pilot project for the Kazakh system of official development assistance.