Secretary-General's remarks at joint press encounter with Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, H.E. Mr. Zheenbek Kulubaev

I thank the Government and the people of Kyrgyzstan for your warm welcome, and for the great honour of naming one of the peaks of the Tian Shan after the United Nations.

I believe this is a first for the UN. It reminds us that our work requires us always to look up, to aspire, and to make progress together, step by step.

The naming of UN Peak also reflects our links with mountain communities and the mountain agenda around the world, and our efforts to protect these breathtaking yet fragile ecosystems.

I commend Kyrgyzstan for its leadership on mountain issues and welcome the adoption of the General Assembly Resolution on Sustainable Mountain Development, an initiative of Kyrgyzstan. This launched the Five Year Action Plan for the Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions.

And I want to reassure you that the UN will be fully supportive, not only of the action plan, but of the trust fund that is necessary to guarantee its success.

I send my sincere condolences to the families of those who died in the recent mudslides, and express my deep solidarity with all those affected.

Dear friends of the media,

Since I was last in Kyrgyzstan, the world has been through major challenges:

the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, the climate emergency, increasing geopolitical tensions and divisions.

Amid these developments, it is heartening to see positive momentum in Central Asia, with progress on regional cooperation.

I welcome the conclusion of the Treaty between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, on the delimitation of their border, which is already leading to stronger trade relations and partnerships. I hope outstanding border issues – including those between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan – will soon be resolved through continued dialogue.

Kyrgyzstan’s unique geography gives you strong reasons to continue pressing for urgent climate action, including at COP29 later this year.

I was encouraged by my meeting earlier today with young climate activists. I told them how important their voices are in pushing for change around the world.

In my meeting with President Zhaparov, I welcomed the strong partnership between Kyrgyzstan and the United Nations for the last three decades, and your support for the Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy.

The UN Country Team is fully engaged in supporting your priorities, from the provision of social services – including ending violence and discrimination against women – to green development, and building just and accountable institutions.

Kyrgyzstan’s current tenure on the UN Human Rights Council creates a particular responsibility to uphold all human rights – economic, social, cultural, civil, and political.

I was very impressed by the honourable Minister that explained to me that the Kyrgyz people have freedom in their DNA. And this is clearly demonstrated by centuries of history.

And the honourable Minister explained to me that the Kyrgyz people would never accept an authoritarian regime, and that the Government is deeply committed to democratic institutions and to fundamental freedoms.

But one important dimension of the implementation of human rights is the program to implement the Sustainable Development Goals. And I was extremely encouraged by the firm determination of the President and the Government to be successful in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2030, taking into account the similarity of the strategy for 2030 of the Kyrgyz Government and the strategy for 2030 of the UN Agenda.

Dear friends,

Around the world, we see many serious challenges to multilateralism and a failure of countries to unite behind global solutions.

Multilateral institutions and frameworks are falling behind.

Both the UN Security Council and the international financial architecture need deep reforms, to make them more representative of today’s world, and more responsive to today’s challenges and to the needs of developing countries like Kyrgyzstan.

The Summit of the Future in September is a pivotal opportunity for renewal and reform, and Central Asian countries have a key role to play.

At the Summit and beyond, the United Nations looks forward to strengthening cooperation with Kyrgyzstan to advance peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights.

We will have a mountain to climb together, but Kyrgyzstan’s expertise in this area will be more important than ever.

Thank you.