Deputy Chairman of the Senate Askar Shakirov met with UN Assistant Secretary-General Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.
In the course of the talks, the interlocutors discussed the issues of further strengthening cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United Nations.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development became one of the central topics of the meeting.
“In Kazakhstan, the basic parameters of national programs are brought in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At present, they are integrated into the strategic documents of the country by 80%. At the 2022 session of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, Kazakhstan will present its second Voluntary National Review of the progress made in this area. The Parliament of Kazakhstan has a key role in the implementation of the SDGs at the national level,” Askar Shakirov said.
The significance of implementation of the initiative of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to establish a regional SDG Center for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Kazakhstan under the aegis of the UN was stressed.
While discussing the situation in Afghanistan, the UN Assistant Secretary-General highly appreciated the decision of the Head of State to deploy a temporary remote office of the UN Assistance Mission to that country in Almaty.
“The decision of temporarily hosting the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan in Almaty city became recognition of Kazakhstan’s role in ensuring the regional and global security. Our country stands ready to make its contribution to international efforts in providing humanitarian relief to Afghanistan,” the Vice-Speaker noted.
Askar Shakirov invited specialized agencies of the United Nations to cooperate with the KazAID agency, an authorized body in the field of official development assistance (ODA), through the implementation of joint projects in developing countries. Over the past 20 years, Kazakhstan has allocated more than 540 million USD to foreign countries for purposes similar to ODA.
The United Nations representative noted the successful growth of Kazakhstan, which, in her words, has transformed from a recipient country to a donor country over the years and has achieved great progress in human development. She emphasized the effectiveness of the reforms carried out in Kazakhstan and noted that human rights are becoming an important aspect of the development policies and programs of the UNDP.
The parties also discussed prospects for further cooperation between the UN structures in charge of the SDGs and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which the Kazakhstani senator represents as Vice President and Special Representative of the Assembly for the SDGs.
