Kazakh president urges regional unity as ecological summit opens in Astana

By Korea Herald correspondent Lim Jae-seong

ASTANA, Kazakhstan — The Regional Ecological Summit 2026, a key international platform in Central Asia and the Caucasus for addressing environmental challenges, opened Wednesday in Astana, Kazakhstan, drawing delegates from more than 55 countries, including the presidents of seven nations.

The three-day event has become a major forum for discussions on regional environmental issues, including water shortages that threaten economic development.

It is set to host as many as 58 sessions through Friday, alongside the signing of investment-related agreements worth about $2 billion, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources.

The presidents of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, Armenia, Georgia and Kazakhstan, as well as Azerbaijan’s prime minister and senior United Nations officials, attended the plenary session opening the summit.

From Korea, Park Chun-kyoo, head of the United Nations Office for Sustainable Development, and Jin Sun-pil, vice executive director of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization, took part.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev pointed to major environmental pressures facing the region, including water scarcity, desertification, glacier retreat and biodiversity loss, and called for joint action rather than conflict over limited natural resources.

“Nature can’t exist without geopolitics, and the latter cannot exist without nature. Our countries share ecosystems ... and, most importantly, we share responsibility,” Tokayev said in his keynote address to the plenary session.

“Environmental cooperation must serve as a reliable instrument of unity and should not divide us.”

He also stressed the need to reflect the circumstances of countries in the region that are moving beyond Soviet-era economic systems while accelerating growth in manufacturing and energy.

“In many cases, environmental agendas are drafted without fully considering the development needs of different regions and countries, especially emerging states that are still building their economic capacities,” Tokayev said.

“The global transition to cleaner models must be fair, balanced and stimulating.”

Building on Tokayev’s 2023 address to the United Nations General Assembly, the summit has expanded its focus beyond climate issues to broader environmental concerns, positioning itself as a central part of Kazakhstan’s diplomatic push for regional cooperation and sustainable growth.