Kazakh leader: SCO member states highly appreciate Azerbaijan's contribution

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan, praised Azerbaijan's role as a partner state within the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

He emphasised this during his speech at the SCO Plus meeting held as part of the SCO summit in Astana, Caliber.Az reports referring to local media.

"We attach importance to Azerbaijan's efforts to strengthen ties with the Shanghai Organisation," Tokayev said.

The COP29 conference will allow countries to show solidarity on the climate agenda, the head of state also noted in his speech.

"In the current realities, cooperation in the field of ecology and combating climate change is of particular relevance. The situation in this sphere is of serious concern. We have witnessed a significant increase in various natural disasters, which cause enormous damage to virtually all states," he emphasised.

According to Tokayev, Kazakhstan has recently felt the consequences of unprecedented floods, the scale of which, according to experts, is directly related to the process of global warming.

"It is obvious that it is impossible to overcome climate challenges alone. I believe that the world community should continue a decisive course towards decarbonisation of the economy but without prejudice to the urgent tasks of development and modernisation of all states. We will be able to show our solidarity on the climate agenda within the framework of the upcoming COP29 conference in Baku in November this year," Tokayev said.

He also wished Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev a successful holding of the event.

"Special attention should be paid to the development of joint actions to address the problem of degradation of inland water bodies, as well as the introduction of new water-saving technologies. Joint work of our countries in this direction will be a practical contribution of the SCO to the realisation of the goals of the International Year of Glacier Conservation announced by the UN, which was initiated by Tajikistan," the Kazakh president said.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit is taking place in Astana on 3-4 July, with leaders of SCO member states signing 25 documents, including the Astana Declaration, during the summit.

The summit is attended by heads of state and government from Kazakhstan, India, Iran, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Qatar, UAE, Türkiye, and Turkmenistan. Also present are the UN Secretary-General, the SCO Secretary-General, and the Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.