Head of State took part in the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Development Week summit

15.01.2025
Head of State took part in the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Development Week summit

The summit was also attended by President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Rwanda Paul Kagame, Prime Minister of Finland Petteri Orpo, Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Razan Al Mubarak and others.

During his working visit to the United Arab Emirates, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev took part in the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Development Week summit, which brought together leading world leaders and experts to discuss global challenges of sustainable development.

The President was the first to speak at the summit. In his speech, the head of state noted that the world currently faces a number of critical issues, such as climate change, desertification, loss of biodiversity, water shortages and food security. These challenges are exacerbated by geopolitical tensions and disruption of global supply chains.

The President stressed that Kazakhstan is ready to address these issues through an ambitious strategy based on three key areas – digitalization and artificial intelligence, large infrastructure projects and nuclear energy.

“Energy systems worldwide account for 75% of greenhouse gas emissions and 10% of biodiversity loss. It is important that international partners such as Masdar, Total, Eni and others have committed to implementing 43 GW of green energy projects in Kazakhstan. The construction of our first nuclear power plant, which was supported by a nationwide referendum, will be an important step towards the sustainable development of the country’s energy sector. Kazakhstan also aims to ensure diversified supplies to world markets of critical raw materials that are necessary to achieve global carbon reduction goals,” said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The President then focused on the importance of transport infrastructure.

"For our country, which has become a leading transit hub in Eurasia, transit and transport are the most important prerequisites for sustainable development. We are actively investing in transport infrastructure, including roads and railways, airports and seaports. In order to further expand communication capabilities, Kazakhstan intends to develop the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route and the North-South Transport Corridor, as well as play a key role in the Belt and Road Initiative. We aim to create sustainable supply chains that not only strengthen regional connectivity, but also ensure sustainable economic growth," the head of state noted.

As he noted, one of the main challenges of the Central Asian region is global warming.

"Accelerating warming may threaten ecosystems, living conditions and food security, which requires urgent climate adaptation strategies. The region is also heavily dependent on transboundary rivers. Therefore, we urgently need to establish early warning systems and improve water and land management. To do this, we must invest in water-saving technologies, modernize irrigation systems, conclude effective water management agreements, and use artificial intelligence, satellite monitoring and other digital tools," the president suggested.

The speech raised the issue of food security, which also requires urgent attention.

"Innovative approaches are needed to ensure stable supplies of food and fertilizers to world markets. Kazakhstan, which exports large volumes of wheat and flour to the international market, aims to further improve sustainable agriculture methods and technologies," the head of state said.

According to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in order to confront current challenges, a new paradigm of world development based on sustainability, justice and stability is required. A holistic system built on three key principles can provide a solution to global problems.

"The first is to ensure "green" financing, which should become much more accessible. The second is to expand international cooperation in the field of technology transfer, technical support and scientific research. Solar energy, smart agriculture, carbon capture and climate technologies based on artificial intelligence offer a wide range of innovative solutions. The third is the synergistic interaction of climate priorities, economic development and artificial intelligence, which could amount to more than 16% of global GDP by 2030. This emphasizes the importance of a flexible and individual approach to supporting various goals of states in the field of sustainable development," the President of Kazakhstan said.

In conclusion, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev wished that today's summit would become an important milestone in defining global priorities and coordinating efforts in the field of sustainable development for the coming decades.

By the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda