New York, 21 September 2022 (TDI): The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, gave a speech at the General Debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 20 September.
Президент Қасым-Жомарт Тоқаевтың БҰҰ Бас Ассамблеясы 77-сессиясының жалпы дебатында сөйлеген сөзіhttps://t.co/83LD13rlfz pic.twitter.com/MJSFPZbxKN
— President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s Press Office (@AkordaPress) September 20, 2022
The 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly commenced on 13 September in New York. This is the first in-person session since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kazakh President’s speech
Kazakhstan’s President highlighted that the world convened during a new, more bitter period of geopolitical tensions, bringing attention to developing hostility between global powers, new military confrontations, and the risk of nuclear weapons use.
Economic and political restrictions have become the “new norm,” with supply chains and food security being affected as a result.
Furthermore, he cautioned about the United Nations’ core and interdependent principles of sovereignty of states, territorial integrity of states, and peaceful coexistence, being under attack.
In response to the Secretary-General’s report ‘Our Common Agenda,’ he stated that he is certain that these difficulties, crises, and gaps in global governance can only be solved by inclusivity, cooperation, and modernization of the UN.
In the future, the 2024 Summit of the Future will advise world leaders on preventing catastrophes rather than just responding to global concerns.
In this regard, he emphasized Kazakhstan’s proposal, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, and conveyed his hope that it will be transformed into a full-fledged international organization at the upcoming summit in Astana in October.
In order to get back on track with the SDGs, he believes that a new global security paradigm and open dialogue between the East and West are required.
Concerned about the increased competitiveness and rhetoric between nuclear powers, he stated that Kazakhstan will continue to fight for a world free of such arsenals.
Aside from that, the pandemic has highlighted the need of controlling biological risks and hazards, and he restated an earlier suggestion to form an International Agency for Biological Safety.
Moreover, he said combating climate change needs international collaboration as well. Kazakhstan has promised to transition its oil and coal-dependent energy industry into a net zero economy by 2060, echoing the efforts of many other countries.
He encouraged the Member States to increase their commitments to increased climate funding at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in November, stating that “climate action cannot come at the expense of development of modernization.”
These resources are also required to address the global food security challenge. Kazakhstan, known as “the breadbasket of Central Asia,” is the continent’s biggest landlocked developing country and a major land route.
To support economic recovery and address supply disruptions, it is critical that food and fertilizers stay off any sanction lists, and that emphasis be directed to reliable and diverse global transportation and infrastructure. Regional economic and political cooperation is the precedence.
Kazakhstan is on the way to becoming a just nation, “in which every citizen has the same opportunities, rights, and protections,” he stated.
The presidential term has been reduced to a seven-year term, the economy has been demonopolized, the death penalty has been abolished, and a mandated 30% quota for women and young people on political party legislative lists has been imposed, among other things.
He emphasized that the government will “spare no effort” not just at home, but also abroad, to create a safer, more sustainable, and prosperous global society.
The full text of the speech has been published on the official website of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
