Strasbourg, March 25, 2025 – The Consul General of Kazakhstan A.Bakytbekkyzy, participated in the international Conference "Upper Rhine – 2025", organized at the Headquarters of the European Community of Alsace (ECA). The event brought together leading experts in water resource management from France, Germany, and Switzerland to discuss current challenges in water supply, ecology, and the sustainable use of water resources in the context of global climate change.

During the opening ceremony, the participants were welcomed by F.Bierry, President of the ECA, C.Cramer, President of the Upper Rhine Conference and B.Mettenleiter, President of the Rhine Council.

As part of the discussion sessions, A.Bakytbekkyzy delivered a speech titled "The Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture, Water, and Natural Resources in Kazakhstan," providing Western experts with insights into the country’s water-related challenges. She emphasized that Kazakhstan, as the largest country in Central Asia, faces significant water-related issues, particularly in the agricultural sector, where water is a critical resource for ensuring food security.

Highlighting the scale of global flood risks, particularly in light of the large-scale flooding events that occurred in Kazakhstan in 2024, the diplomat informed the participants about the measures being taken by the Kazakh government to address these challenges. She particularly stressed the importance of cross-border and international cooperation among countries in tackling water-related crises.

A.Bakytbekkyzy also underscored Kazakhstan's commitment to "water diplomacy", drawing attention to several initiatives undertaken by the country to address water issues. These include the conclusions of the One Water Summit in Riyadh, Kazakhstan’s successful cooperation with EU countries, the organization of the Regional Climate Summit in Astana in 2026, the establishment of the UN Regional Center for Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asian countries and Afghanistan in Almaty, as well as Kazakhstan’s priorities as Chair of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (2024-2026).

European experts also paid particular attention to the ecological disaster of the Aral Sea’s desiccation. It was noted that Kazakhstan is actively implementing international projects to restore the region’s ecosystem and continues to introduce innovative solutions to mitigate the consequences of this environmental catastrophe.

At the conclusion of the event, participants and the ECA administration expressed their gratitude to the Kazakh Consulate General for organizing a photo exhibition dedicated to the Aral Sea crisis, which effectively demonstrated the scale of the environmental disaster to the experts in attendance.

Finally, the conference’s organizing committee, represented by Mr. J.Richert, Director of the Department of Environment at the ECA, emphasized that Kazakhstan’s debut participation in this conference was an important step in exchanging expertise and fostering new synergies to develop common solutions for pressing water issues. In this regard, both parties expressed their willingness to explore further expert exchanges at future discussion platforms to be held in Kazakhstan and EU countries.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-strasbourg/press/news/details/963415?lang=kk