At the outset. I would like to congratulate the high representative of Trinidad and Tobago. Mr. Dennis Francis, on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session. I wish him success and fruitful work in his important position. He can count on the support of Kyrgyzstan during his presidency.
I express my gratitude to the President of the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session, the representative of friendly Hungary. Mr. Csaba Korosi. for his active work and support for Kyrgyzstan’s international initiatives.
Today the world is at a turning point. We are all witnessing and seeing with our own eyes the negative changes in the world order and increasing geostrategic competition between major Powers and their blocs. Geopolitical tensions are pushing the world towards fragmentation into regional and subregional financial and economic blocs and systems. It is also obvious that the Governments of various countries will be compelled to make economic, technological and geopolitical choices.
Among the shocks on a global scale that have not yet completely become a thing of the past. I would like to note the spread of the coronavirus infection, which has cost humankind millions of lives and economic losses exceeding $12 trillion. The world today is experiencing the highest inflation rates and highest food prices ever seen in the past 60 years. The repercussions of geoeconomic fragmentation, according to the International Monetary Fund, could lead to a drop in global gross domestic product by 7 per cent. The decline in trust among different countries and groups of countries is alarming.
However. I am convinced that current global challenges and risks — from the climate crisis and the threat to food security to growing inequality — should, on the contrary, unite all the members of the international community. It is vital to build a multilateral system that does not allow the further fragmentation of the geopolitical landscape in the world.
Were international conditions easier 78 years ago. when the United Nations was just beginning its work after the bloodiest and most destructive war in human history, than they are today? Were the contradictions among countries, especially political and ideological, less acute then than in our time? What prevents Member States from hearing one another and trying to overcome their differences and establish a dialogue?
In recent years, despite the Iron Curtain and military bloc thinking, the United Nations has been and remains the most legitimate and commonly recognized platform of diplomacy, uniting developed and developing countries, large and small. Kyrgyzstan
strongly supports the United Nations as the only universal intergovernmental international organization mandated by all Member States to find solutions to the challenges and threats that constantly arise before humankind. I count on our Organization, under the leadership of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and with the effective support of Member States, to find mechanisms and ways to more effectively perform all its functions and assist Member States in resolving pressing global issues and overcoming challenges. That is especially crucial in supporting sustainable development through the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. I call on all Member States to provide unconditional political support to the Organization and its Secretary-General at this challenging time.
I thank the Secretary-General for presenting his New Agenda for Peace policy brief, with his vision for the future of multilateral security cooperation. We agree with the main thesis that the driving force behind the new multilateralism must be diplomacy. We are ready to work closely on the active development of the pact for the future during the Summit of the Future in 2024.
Speaking of Central Asia. I would like to note that we. representatives of the Central Asian nations that are related and proud of their millennia-old history and culture, have a lot in common in traditions and customs. There is much that brings us together in terms of similarities in mentality, psychology, attitude and our view of the world. On the one hand, ongoing global processes have a direct impact on stability and security in our Central Asian region and. on the other, they strengthen its role and significance. Strengthening relations with the countries of the region is a top priority for our country.
I note with satisfaction that, in recent years, regional cooperation in Central Asia has been developing consistently and in all directions. I see our region as a single geoeconomic space in which all forms of economic cooperation and interaction are successfully developed. I see our region as a geopolitical intermediary through which the interaction and cooperation of members of the international community takes place. I see our region as a highly connected and dynamic community that shares and supports similar cultural, historical and traditional values and beliefs. Kyrgyzstan intends to contribute to strengthening regional cooperation, find new effective forms of cooperation and actively interact with various global centres of influence in bilateral and multilateral formats alike.
On the path to full regional integration, it is necessary to resolve issues related to the legal delineation of State borders. Exactly a year ago. speaking from this very rostrum (see A/77/PV.4). with a heavy heart I informed the Assembly of the tragic events of September 2022. related to armed clashes on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border that resulted in numerous casualties. Thanks to the restraint shown by our peace-loving people and the prevailing political will of both sides, we were able to prevent the further escalation of the conflict and avert full-scale bloodshed in the region.
In that regard. I would like to emphasize that Kyrgyzstan has advocated and will continue to advocate resolving controversial issues exclusively through peaceful diplomatic means based on the principles and norms of international law. such as territorial integrity and the non-use of force or the threat of its use. We have never sought to take what belongs to others, but we will not allow anyone to take a single inch of our homeland. We always strive for dialogue and the search for mutually acceptable solutions based on trust and mutual respect.
Last December, after almost 30 years of negotiations, we signed an agreement with Uzbekistan on the legal delineation of the State border. That historic decision, reached thanks to the demonstrated political will of the leaders of the two States, has opened the broadest prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation and peaceful coexistence between the two countries and peoples. We maintain the same approach in our current negotiations. We want to live in peace, harmony and friendship with all our neighbours.
Speaking of security and stability in Central Asia, it is essential to consider them in the context of the situation in Afghanistan. I believe it extremely important to remind the international community that the people of Afghanistan are experiencing significant difficulties, which are amplified by the lack of a coordinated global stance on the situation in that country. It would not be an exaggeration on my part to say that Afghanistan is threatened by a humanitarian crisis with inevitable consequences for the security of not only the surrounding regions, but also the entire world community. Kyrgyzstan is interested in a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. We call on the international community to continue providing humanitarian and economic assistance to the Afghan people.
The SDG Summit concluded just yesterday, confirming once again the importance of unwavering commitment to sustainable development, identifying challenges in their implementation and outlining specific commitments by States. We are halfway to 2030. the deadline for reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Kyrgyzstan, in its pursuit of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, currently ranks forty-fifth out of 166 Member States. We aim to be among the top 30 countries in reaching the SDGs by 2030.
The international community must breathe new life into the Goals and strengthen solidarity in their attainment. It is important that we do not lose ourselves in numbers, schedules, diagrams and other economic intricacies, because the essence and core of the 17 Goals are about people themselves. The year 2030 is approaching quickly and we must ask ourselves: Have we addressed the pressing needs and aspirations of humankind? Are we ensuring its safety, prosperity and well-being? Are people happy? What does their future hold? Problems such as extreme poverty and climate change can be solved only by finding a global, collective response.
As the Secretary-General rightly notes in his Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2023.
“without the means to invest in sustainable development and the transformation of their energy and food systems, developing countries are falling even further behind”
in achieving the SDGs. The current reality is that developing countries face a dual challenge: the need to invest in development while simultaneously adapting to climate change. In that regard, we call for urgent action to implement the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development, and specifically for the swift establishment of the fund aimed at providing compensation to countries for losses and damages related to climate change, alleviating the burden of external debt and improving the international architecture for debt resolution.
At previous climate change summits and conferences, ambitious statements and promises were made. It is also clear that the level of annual funding announced in 2015 under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change is no longer sufficient. We consider it necessary to revise and significantly increase the level of funding that meets the real needs of countries vulnerable to climate change.
Another problem is that most climate finance is provided to low- and middle-income countries in the form of loans. There is also no difference in the procedures for allocating loans for projects worth $1 million or $1 billion. That undermines the very essence and purpose of climate agreements. I have already reached out to our partners with a request to exchange external debt for environmental projects. Unfortunately, we have received no reaction from many of the developed countries. The Government of Germany was the only country that wrote off €15 million of debt. We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to Germany.
We call on donors to reconsider their approaches in favour of climate finance to countries in need on a grant basis. We support the Bridgetown Initiative, proposed at the 27th Climate Change Conference, held in Sharm el- Sheikh. as well as the calls made at the Summit for a New Global Financial Pact in Paris, held in June, to mobilize the necessary financing and structural reform of the international financial architecture. If we do not start doing this now. then injustice will increase throughout the world. Rich countries will continue getting richer and poor countries will continue getting poorer.
In the light of global climate change, mountainous regions have been particularly vulnerable. In Kyrgyzstan, mountains occupy about 94 per cent of the territory. Mountain glaciers are an integral part of the Earth’s cryosphere, not only influencing the climate of our planet but also providing a habitat for flora and fauna and supplying water to people.
Climate change in Central Asia has led to the intensive melting of glaciers. While it was once predicted that by 2050 the area of glaciers in Kyrgyzstan would be reduced by half and that by 2100 they could disappear altogether, there is now reason to believe that this will happen much sooner. That is leading to the exacerbation of problems throughout the region, such as lack of water for drinking and agriculture, land degradation and a threat to food security. In accordance with the latest assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the adverse effects of cryospheric changes are particularly acute for the residents of high mountain regions, where ecosystems have reached the limits of adaptation.
In order to effectively preserve mountain ecosystems and glaciers, based on resolutions previously adopted by the General Assembly on sustainable mountain development, our country, in collaboration with the Global Mountain Partnership and other representatives of the United Nations system, has developed a global action plan. We are grateful to all our partners, countries and international organizations for their joint work.
Kyrgyzstan advocates the creation of a broad coalition of mountainous countries. We believe that climate adaptation and the transition to a green economy will be among the main priorities of that future coalition. As members may know, in 2022. at the initiative of our country and the Italian Republic, the General Assembly unanimously adopted resolution 77/172. on sustainable mountain development, co-sponsored by 110 member States. That document declared the years from 2023 to 2027 as Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions. I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all United Nations Member States for supporting our initiative.
To further implement the United Nations resolution. I have signed a decree entitled On Declaring the Period from 2023 to 2027 as the Five-Year Period of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions in the Kyrgyz Republic. A national Road Map for the Implementation of the Five-Year Period of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions for 2023-2027 has been developed, which will be adopted shortly. The Road Map includes measures at the global, regional and national levels, including within the framework of existing and prospective projects and measures related to the Sustainable Development Goals.
As the concluding stage of the Five-Year Period of Action, we plan to host the second Global Mountain Summit. Bishkek+25. in Kyrgyzstan in 2027. 25 years after the first Summit. From this rostrum. I would like to invite everyone to actively participate and make concrete commitments to preserving mountain ecosystems. We express our gratitude to our partners from the Group of Friends of Mountainous Countries, the Global Mountain Partnership and the entire United Nations system for their comprehensive support of Kyrgyzstan’s initiatives. We express our readiness to continue fruitful cooperation.
To successfully meet the challenges and threats facing us. we need to build an effective international security system. A key element of that mechanism is the Security Council. Today more than ever, it is crucial to enhance its effectiveness in order to make that organ fairer and more representative and to increase its capacity to achieve consensus in decision-making. Progress is needed in negotiations on the reform of the Security Council.
Kyrgyzstan expresses its readiness to make its contribution to the cause of peace and security through effective peacemaking, respect for human rights and the equal participation of women in peace processes. We also aim to promote and protect the interests of developing, small, least-developed and small island nations. We have put forward our candidacy for non-permanent membership of the Security Council for the 2027-2028 term and count on the support of Member States. It is essential for all of us to adhere to principles such as trust, solidarity and universality in international relations. Only together can we restore the global and regional security architecture.
Speaking of contemporary challenges and issues. I would like to quote the words of our outstanding compatriot. Jusup Balasagyn. who lived from 1020 to 1075 and gave guidance more than 1.000 years ago. He said. “Our world is such that you must grasp its essence to unlock the gates of truth.” Nothing has changed since then. It is necessary to perceive the world as it is. in all its diversity and complexity.
We. the States Members of the United Nations, must transform our Organization into the centre of global efforts to prevent conflicts, reach compromises and do everything possible to establish peace and harmony. “The one who walks the path will overcome it”, as a proverb of our people says.