ACTIVITIES OF SECRETARY-GENERAL IN KAZAKHSTAN, 17-18 OCTOBER

On Thursday afternoon, 17 October, Secretary-General Kofi Annan arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan’s new capital.  The Secretary-General met with President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The President briefed the Secretary-General on Kazakhstan’s progress over the past ten years, since it joined the United Nations, including a dramatic rate of economic growth and a corresponding reduction in poverty.  He added that the Government now has a plan to extend assistance to the rural poor, where most of the population lives.

The Secretary-General welcomed this focus on the poor.  They then discussed a wide range of issues, starting with regional security and the proposed Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone Agreement for Central Asia.  The Secretary-General praised as a “timely initiative” the CICA [Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia] meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan, earlier this year, which allowed for India and Pakistan to begin to de-escalate a tense standoff between them at the time.

The Secretary-General raised the issue of conflicting claims to the Caspian Sea, and the President expressed his hope that an equitable solution would be found.

They discussed the phenomenon of Islamic militants in the region and the international efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.

The Secretary-General asked if the United Nations could help with water resource management, and the President described a problem area in three provinces in the south of the country.

They also discussed Security Council efforts to come to agreement on the conditions for the return of United Nations weapons inspectors to Iraq.

After the hour-long meeting, the President presented the Secretary-General with the Order of “Dostyk”, or “friendship”, the highest award given to non-Kazakh nationals.  (See press release SG/SM/8442 of 27 October.)

The two men then held a brief press encounter, and the first question was directed to the Secretary-General for his view of the United States Congressional resolutions authorizing military action against Iraq, with or without Security

Council authorization.  The Secretary-General said the United States was very much part of the discussion of this issue taking place in the Security Council.  He added that his sense was that the Council’s resolution “will be adopted by the Member States”.  The discussions in the Council, he said, “are taking place after the United States Congress has taken its decision, which would lead me to believe that the US would prefer to work with the Council and with the international community”.

Asked how he viewed Kazakhstan’s role in providing security and stability in the region, he replied, “I’ve already had the chance to applaud the President for his role, not only on the issue of conflict prevention, but also on the whole question of disarmament and the nuclear-free zone”.  And he added, “I think what Kazakhstan is doing, and the President’s leadership, is absolutely essential for this region”.

On arrival in Astana, Mrs. Nane Annan took part in the launch of an album of children's drawings and essays, entitled "Children of Kazakhstan:  About themselves and their rights".  During the event, she presented a plaque to the First Lady of Kazakhstan, Mrs. Sara Nazarbayeva , on behalf of UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund, honouring her work for children.  "Mrs. Nazarbayeva", she said, "you believe in the right of children to grow up in a family environment and through your foundation, Bobek, you have created family-type villages for orphans".  She also praised Kazakhstan's achievements in providing free immunization for children and recognizing the importance of good quality basic education.  After the launch, Mrs. Annan spoke with two children who attended the Special Session on Children held at the United Nations in New York, May 2002.

On Thursday evening, President Nazarbayev hosted a dinner in honour of the Secretary-General and Mrs. Annan.  They were entertained both by classical and folk musicians, and at the end of the evening, the President’s wife Sara serenaded her guests with a song.  The Secretary-General and his wife were then dressed in traditional Kazakh robes and hats.

On Friday morning, the Secretary-General met with his United Nations country team in Kazakhstan at the United Nations offices in Astana.  The team reported that the Government was finalizing what will be the first progress report in achieving the Millennium Development Goals of any country in the region.  The Secretary-General was encouraged, saying that the goals, approved at the 2000 Millennium Summit, constituted clear priorities for the next 15-20 years.  We have had enough big conferences and reports, he said.  “What we need now is implementation”.  The fewer meetings we have now, he added, “the more time there will be for action”.  He also briefed them on the status of the Security Council’s debate on Iraq.

He then went to the Parliament, where he spoke to members of both the upper and lower houses.  Your biggest responsibility, as representative of the people, he said, is to ensure that your constituents are protected against global dangers like terror, drugs and AIDS, while benefiting from opportunities in technology, trade and investment that globalization also offers.  “And so it is your job”, he declared, “to serve as a link, not only between local and national, but also between local and international concerns”.  He then took questions from the parliamentarians.

From Parliament, he went to the Foreign Ministry, to meet with members of the Council of the People’s Assembly.  The Council was set up by the President to allow regular high-level contact between the Government and leaders of Kazakhstan’s more than 100 national and ethnic groups.

Globalization, he told them, had thrown us together and made our lives intersect with those of others, far and near.  In some places, the reaction had been to turn inwards, excluding strangers and huddling together in separate communities.  This tended, at best, to acts of xenophobia, intolerance and discrimination.  At worst, it led to ethnic cleansing and genocide.

He cited the September 11 attacks in the United States as an example of such a negative reaction, and also a stimulus to it.  They increased the dangers of a paralyzed world, in which Christians and Muslims would turn against each other.

But in Kazakhstan, he said, the dangers of such a world were especially apparent.  You could show the world a different way to respond, he told them.  “This country, and this Assembly, are living examples of the dialogue among civilizations”.

He then listened to comments by leaders of the Ukrainian, Korean, Turk, Armenian, Uighur, Jewish and Chechen communities of Kazakhstan.

At midday, he flew to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, becoming the first United Nations Secretary-General to visit that country.