Members of UN Security Council approved program of Kazakhstan's chairmanship
The Diplomats noted the qualitative elaboration of the program of Kazakhstan's chairmanship. In particular, Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya stressed that "knowing Kazakhstan perfectly as no other member of the Council" taking into account the historical factor and traditionally close relations, the Russian side "is confident in the success of the work of the Kazakhstani delegation as the Chairman of the Council" the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan reported.
The Russian Diplomat announced the participation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov at a high-level Security Council briefing with the participation of President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on the topic "Non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: confidence-building measures" on January 18. US Ambassador Nicky Hailey and other Ambassadors of the member countries of the Council noted the substantial and rich program of Kazakhstan in January with a focus on pressing issues of non-proliferation through confidence-building measures and the inclusion of the ministerial-level debates on Central Asia and Afghanistan on the agenda of the Security Council.
On the same day, on the initiative of Kazakhstan, for the first time in the history of the United Nations, a solemn ceremony was held to raise the flags of the newly elected six non-permanent members of the UN Security Council - Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Peru and Poland. The event was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru Ricardo Luna. The ceremony was attended by a large number of representatives of the Member States of the Security Council and the United Nations, the international press, UN agencies and NGOs.
In the opinion of many delegations, the event became a vivid "visiting card" of the beginning of the Kazakhstani chairmanship, launching a new tradition in the UN. Not only the novelty of this step was noted, but also its deep symbolism, emphasizing the high responsibility of the new members of the Council to the world community, which entrusted them with the solution of international problems of peace and security. The initiative is already being considered as an element of the legacy of Kazakhstan's chairmanship in the UN Security Council. Thus, the Permanent Representative of Equatorial Guinea said that his delegation would consolidate the tradition and repeat the ceremony during its chairmanship in the Security Council - in January next year.
Officially, the January program of work of the Council was approved at a meeting of the Security Council members, after which it was already presented to the attention of the UN Member States within the framework of a separate briefing by Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan Kairat Umarov. The delegations participating in the meeting congratulated Kazakhstan on assuming the office of the Security Council Chairman and wished successes in the forthcoming work. A number of countries (Morocco, Chile, Colombia, Tajikistan) noted the urgency of the key issues selected by the Kazakhstani side in the framework of the chairmanship of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and building a regional partnership in Afghanistan and Central Asia as a model for the interdependence of security and development. The Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan answered the numerous questions of the member countries on the program of work under the Kazakhstan Chairmanship.
During the traditional press-conference, the Ambassador of the chairing country K. Umarov acquainted the journalists accredited to the UN with the key priorities of Kazakhstan's chairmanship, as well as the work program of the Council for January. Special attention of representatives of the international press was focused on the holding by Kazakhstan of a high-level event in the field of non-proliferation through confidence-building measures with the participation of President N.Nazarbayev, the situation around North Korea, Iran, Palestine and the status of Jerusalem, Myanmar. A number of issues touched upon the problems of Syria, the humanitarian situation in Yemen, climate change and the promotion of initiatives and developments in the field of "green technologies" by Kazakhstan.
Correspondents of the world's leading publications - Al-Arabiya, Huffington Post, Associated Press, Agence France Press, CBS, FOX News, Nikkei, Mainichi, Fiji TV, Tokyo Shimbun, NHK and others - were given detailed answers describing Kazakhstan's position on major international issues in the light of the initiatives of the Head of State.
In general, the first working day of Kazakhstan's chairmanship in the UN Security Council was productive and reaffirmed the respect and high international prestige of Kazakhstan and President N.Nazarbayev.
