Reasons of Kazakhstan’s presidency of six international organizations during 2024

Astana – Kazakhstan occupies a strong and distinctive position through its important position on the map of international and regional politics, as one of the influential forces capable of making a significant contribution to laying the foundation for more effective international cooperation aimed at maintaining stability, as its success in the tasks assigned to it to head six organizations will International issues during the year 2024 will be great importance on issues with common agendas and a promising future, regionally and globally.

In 2024, Kazakhstan is chairing six international organizations. So, Kazinform News Agency explains Kazakhstan’s priorities in these organizations and what it means for the country’s foreign policy.

SCO

Kazakhstan assumed chairmanship at SCO in July 2023. At the virtual summit, which gathered heads of SCO member states, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev charted the nation’s priorities further on.

Addressing the summit in July 2023, Tokayev added the SCO is a “unique Eurasian organization” with an extensive agenda. The member states account for a quarter of the global GDP and over 15% of world trade, and cover practically half of the world’s population.

One of Kazakhstan’s key priorities is ensuring security and stability to “prevent a geopolitical rift between East and West.”

As part of its chairmanship, Kazakhstan presented the initiative, dubbed On World Unity for a Just Peace and Harmony. The recent meeting of SCO national coordinators in Beijing in December 2023 agreed upon draft documents scheduled for signing at the SCO Summit in Astana in 2024.

Turkic world

Kazakhstan assumed chairmanship during the 10th anniversary OTS summit in Astana in November 2023. There, President Tokayev announced Kazakhstan’s chairmanship will be held under the TURKTIME motto, which stands for Traditions, Unity, Reforms, Knowledge, Trust, Investment, Mediation and Energy.

He emphasized the importance of fostering free export of goods to the common market by creating uniform standards, which he noted will “ensure annual GDP growth of about 1%.”

Tokayev also noted that challenges associated with arms and drug trafficking, terrorism, extremism, and migration are currently escalating.

Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia

The idea of establishing CICA also belongs to Kazakhstan. Initiated by Kazakhstan in 1992, CICA is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation toward promoting peace, security, and stability in Asia.

Kazakhstan assumed chairmanship at CICA in 2020 for two years, and later in 2022, it was extended for another two years. Kazakhstan’s key priorities include the transformation of CICA into a full-fledged organization, the process that began at the sixth CICA Summit in Astana in October 2022, the creation of the CICA Council on Sustainable Interconnectivity, and the transformation of the CICA Finance Summit into a permanent platform.

Addressing the plenary session of the sixth summit in October 2022, President Tokayev outlined five priority areas in how the country sees CICA’s development.

The nation also plans to hold a high-level conference on environmental issues, preliminary scheduled for August this year, and hold a rally of leaders of volunteer movements of the CICA countries in Astana.

In July 2023, a roadmap for the implementation of Kazakhstan’s priorities in CICA for 2023-2024 was signed.

CSTO priorities

On January 1 this year, Kazakhstan took over the chairmanship at the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

Addressing the CSTO Council session in November 2023 in Minsk, Tokayev stressed Kazakhstan’s readiness to make its contribution to further strengthening the collective security system.

He proposed several priority areas. First is the cooperation with other countries and international organizations in the field of security.

“We propose to focus on maintaining the established level of interaction with the United Nations and its structures. We advocate for further deepening cooperation with the CIS and the SCO,” said Tokayev.

Tasmagambetov noted that the goals set for 2023 had been achieved, and commended the contribution of the organization’s member states to strengthening military cooperation in the CSTO format.

International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea

This year, Kazakhstan will also chair the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). It is an international organization aimed at addressing the environmental and socio-economic challenges related to the Aral Sea crisis. The nation will lead IFAS for the next three years.

Addressing the meeting of the Council of Heads of State – Founders of IFAS in Dushanbe in September 2023, Tokayev warned Central Asia’s security is threatened by global climate change, the onset of the dry season and the shortage of irrigation water.

“According to international experts, the temperature in our region is rising much faster than the global average. This leads to a reduction in the area of glaciers, the main source of water in the Aral Sea basin. Their volume has decreased by 30% over the last 50 years. According to analysts’ estimates, by 2050, droughts in Central Asia may amount to 1.3% of GDP per year, resulting in approximately 5 million internal climate migrants,” said Tokayev.

Food security – a growing concern

It aims to enhance agricultural productivity, improve food distribution systems, and promote cooperation in agricultural research and technology transfer among member countries. The organization also works to strengthen resilience to food crises, combat hunger, and provide assistance. For instance, in February 2023, under the IFSO, Kazakhstan sent 50 tons of humanitarian aid to Syria, which was hit hard by the powerful earthquake.

Addressing the sixth General Assembly of IFSO in Doha in October 2023, the Kazakh delegation has outlined proposals, including the development of transportation and logistics infrastructure and the formation of new routes for the delivery of food products, increasing investment cooperation, efficient use of water resources in agriculture, and active humanitarian assistance to those in need.

“Kazakhstan assumes the chairmanship simultaneously in several fundamentally important international organizations, which will become a feature of Kazakh diplomacy. The history of our diplomacy demonstrates our practical commitment to the norms of international law and the institutionalization of multilateral cooperation,” said Zhienbayev.