Astana, April 24, 2026 – First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Ashikbayev held a meeting with Regional Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Florence Bauer.

During the meeting, the Kazakh diplomat thanked UNFPA Regional Director Bauer for her participation in the Regional Ecological Summit and expressed appreciation for the active support of the Organization’s Regional Office in holding panel sessions and events the Summit involving relevant Kazakh government agencies.

He emphasized that environmental issues are directly linked to the health and well-being of children and youth, who are among the most vulnerable in the face of natural disasters and man-made emergencies caused by global climate change.

UNFPA Regional Director Bauer noted that the Summit served as a platform for discussing pressing regional issues such as demographic resilience, child and maternal mortality, the impact of climate change on mortality rates in the region, as well as strengthening the capacities of youth organizations actively engaged in the environmental agenda.

The UNFPA representative also noted that Kazakhstan’s experience in strengthening Family Support Centers in the Turkistan region is being replicated across other regions, while Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan have already expressed readiness to exchange experience in preventing gender-based violence based on Kazakhstan’s centers.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue a constructive dialogue on youth reproductive health and well-being and to expand UNFPA’s presence at the UN Regional Centre for Sustainable Development for the countries of Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/1208469?lang=kk