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The forum brought together renowned leaders, policymakers, scholars, and experts to give them a voice that can empower their ideas for change.

In the opening ceremony and in his address at the plenary session, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev described the current era as “a period of unprecedented geopolitical tensions” characterized by the “process of destroying the very foundation of the world order that has been built since the founding of the United Nations.”

He emphasized that the global system must work for all, bringing peace and prosperity to the many, not to the few.

President Tokayev shared the stage with heads of state and government and executives of international organizations, including the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva. Richard Quest, distinguished British journalist and CNN International news anchor, moderated the plenary discussion.

In her remarks, Georgieva stressed the importance of human contribution to world development, urging the young population to realize their potential.

“We know that there are a lot of opportunities. For example, in the private sector. The most valuable asset of the region are people! Some 60% of people are under 30. Central Asia can demonstrate to the rest of the world that working together is possible,” she said.

Georgieva emphasized the need for multilateralism and cooperation, saying that “if we master the political will, we can do it.”

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addressed the AIF participants via a video address, calling on the world community to act promptly “to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reform an unfair financial architecture and address common threats at a series of important summits starting with the SDG Summit.”

President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov, spoke to moderator Richard Quest about regional integration, stating that “Central Asian countries need to act together as a region through solidarity and coordinated policies.”

Chairwoman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željka Cvijanović, Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov, Director-General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Audrey Azoulay, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana and Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Helga Schmid also attended the flagship session of the AIF.

The two-day international event aimed to find solutions to the current global challenges and find ways to promote peace, prevent conflict, and organize the global order for the benefit of the whole world.

Meanwhile on June 9, President Tokayev highlighted the essential contribution of the United Nations (UN) to the agenda of the Astana International Forum (AIF) during a meeting with the UN delegation on June 9 in Astana, reported the Akorda press service.

The UN delegation included Armida Alisjahbana, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Ivana Živković, Assistant Secretary-General, Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), David Chikvaidze Chef De Cabinet, Office of the UN Director-General, and Michaela Friberg-Storey, UN Resident Coordinator for Kazakhstan.

Tokayev emphasized the UN’s exceptional role in strengthening peace and ensuring security.

The President stressed the need to carry out a comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council, noting the importance of its expansion. He also reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s commitment to join efforts with the UN to strengthen its role.

Over 20 different UN institutions are successfully operating in Kazakhstan. Tokayev reiterated the initiative to open the UN Regional Center for Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty. The center will focus on strengthening the coordination of UN agencies with the region’s governments by adopting comprehensive measures to advance the 2030 Agenda.

High-ranking UN diplomats shared their impressions of the AIF, highlighting the platform’s strategic importance in developing approaches to addressing the pressing challenges of our time. Central Asia’s role was particularly noted in the transport and logistics sphere and digitalization.

The parties discussed the prospects for developing multifaceted cooperation between Kazakhstan and the UN institutions and exchanged views on topical issues of the international and regional agenda.

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On the sidelines of Iran-Kazakhstan Business Forum in Tehran, Shafei met with Torebayev and during the meeting both sides explored ways to remove hurdles for broadening trade ties.

Shafei said that although Kazakhstan is considered as a good market for Iran’s agro products, it faces the problem of refrigerated transport that both countries are struggling which should be resolved soon.

He also emphasized special position of Kazakhstan as a trade partner for Iran and said that the presence of both countries in Eurasia and Shanghai Cooperation Organization have opened new horizons for broadening economic relations that the private sectors of both countries should make most of it.

He then pointed to easing visa process and revoking visa for a two-week visit by both countries and termed it an action which is effective in enhancing trade cooperation and he expects in the near future both countries issue visas for longer times for their traders.

Shafei also said that attention to the rail, sea and transport infrastructures should be prioritized by both countries, adding that the most important problem for boosting bilateral trade between the two countries is the issue of transport. He reiterated that resolving this problem demands strong determination of their statesmen. He added that in the future transit between the two countries via connection of Kazakhstan to China and Iran’s access to the free waters and Southeast Asia can be brilliant provided that infrastructures are ready for taking advantage of this opportunity.

He then pointed to the requirements of Kazakhstan market to Iran’s fruits and vegetables, reiterating that Kazakhstan is a good market for Iranian agro products but there is problem in refrigerated transport and this should be resolved as soon as possible.

Then Kazakh Vice- Minister Torebayev, for his part, emphasized that his country seeks to improve its trade ties with Iran, adding that Iran is the main route of Kazakhstan for connecting to Turkey and the Middle East. He added that the goal behind the forum was to increase the amount of trade exchanges.

He went on to say that Kazakhstan is to broaden its cooperation with Iran especially in agro and fishery products. He then pointed to the problem of logistics between Iran and Kazakhstan and said that Kazakh truck drivers face problems when they passing Iran and if they can define a suitable insurance for the drivers of containers and transit, then they will achieve greater successes in broadening trade ties.

Torebayev added that he thinks in the near future the financial and banking problems between the two states will be resolved and soon both sides will see materialization of their $3b trade volume target.

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On the sidelines of the meeting, Sadatinejad said that Iran and Kazakhstan had several meetings during their joint economic commission and today’s meeting was the third in the recent months and it bespeaks of strong determination of both countries in the field of trade.

He added that presidents of both countries in recent months have reiterated that both countries have set the target of boosting bilateral trade to $3b, adding that the main trade exchanges between the two countries is agro products as Kazakhstan supplies grains to Iran and in return, Iran exports vegetables, fruits, dried fruits, dates and pistachios.

Sadatinejad noted that soon a joint committee on agriculture will be launched between the two countries to take the trade to the operational stage and to launch calendar and volume in the field of trade exchange.

He went on to say that due to the interest of Kazakhstan to the southern markets and need of north Iran to grains, Iran can provided grains in north in cooperation with Kazakhstan and in south, Iran can create transit route and even swap for trade of Kazakhstan with southern markets.

Sadatinejad said that Iran is interested in extraterrestrial cultivation agriculture in Kazakhstan and it was decided a joint meeting to be held in this field.

Meanwhile Zhumangarin told the reporters that currently the relation between the two countries has reached its strategic level.

He added that these meetings should lead to the rise in the trade exchanges and in today’s meeting, both sides exchanged views for boosting bilateral trade to $3b and at least one-thirds of this amount should be in the field of agriculture.

Zhumangarin noted that Kazakhstan is ready to send wheat and barley to Iran and it is also ready to import dates, pistachio, vegetables, fruits and citrus from Iran.

He reiterated that logistic is very crucial in trade, adding that using all logistical facilities from railway, plane, ship and road is in consideration and he wants to go to Bandar Abbas to study the condition for the launch of a terminal or construct infrastructures required for Kazakhstan’s trade.

He stated that today in the field of oil and agro products swap both sides exchanged views and the issue of electricity export among Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan was raised and both sides discussed the launch of a joint committee on agriculture  and it was decided both countries to launch a joint import and export for their agro products.

Zhumangarin also invited Iranian investors for investment in the city of Khorgos bordering China in order to have trade exchange with China. On the revoke of visas, he said that he had talks with road and urban development and reached agreements for signing a MoU for revoking visas.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iranian lawmakers on Monday ratified a bill on an Iran-Kazakhstan commercial shipping agreement in the Caspian Sea between the two countries of Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Kazakhstan.

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Heading a high-ranking delegation, Zarif left Tehran for Astana on Monday at the official initiation of the Central Asian country’s officials.

The Iranian top diplomat plans to attend the annual meeting of the Astana Club and hold talks with senior officials of Kazakhstan during the visit.

The Astana Club is a global issues dialogue platform based on Chatham House rules and convened by Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The club has partnered with international think tanks the Institute of World Economy and Politics, the Carnegie Endowment, the German Council on Foreign Relations, the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, and the Russian International Affairs Council.

Club participants include scholars, businesspersons and former members of the US Congress.

Since Kazakhstan is a relatively newer country after the dissolution of the USSR bloc, Iran’s relationship with the country is therefore also new. According to Kazakhstan, diplomatic relations between the two countries began on January 29, 1992. The mission of Kazakhstan was set up in the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1993 with a consulate created in 2007 (Gogan). As for Iran, they established an embassy in Kazakhstan in 1992 with two consulates created in 1992 (Aktau) and 2012 (Almaty).

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At the start of his speech, president Rouhani said that ground must be paved for return of Syrian refugees, adding the refugees’ return to their sovereign homeland should be facilitated.

Rouhani added that Iran has always stressed inefficiency of military approach to Syrian conflict, calling for forming the Syria’s constitutional committee. He noted that creating a new constitution can be a major step for establishing security in Syria.

He went on to underline that the conflict in Syria must be resolved through dialogue.

Elsewhere, the Iranian president stressed that terrorists must not be allowed to use civilians as human shields in Syria, adding that fighting terrorists until their annihilation is necessary.

He also highlighted that Iran supports Astana process and Sochi agreement for peace in Syria.

Furthermore, Rouhani underscored that no foreign country must be allowed to interfere in Syria’s internal affairs, saying that illegitimate presence of US forces in Syria threatens Syrian sovereignty. He also refuted the US president’s claim last year on Syria pullout as a lie like many other of his lies.

The president also noted that the US withdrawal is necessary for establishment of peace in Syria.

Rouhani slammed the increase in provocative Israeli actions in Syria and Lebanon in his address to the tripartite meeting.

In the same meeting, Russian President Putin said that Russia will continue to fight against terrorism in Syria.

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The new round of talks would address the latest situation in de-escalation zones in Syria’s Idlib, return of refugees, release of prisoners, and formation of a committee that will rewrite Syria’s constitution.

The two-day meeting is being attended by delegations of the Syrian government and the opposition, the Syrian ceasefire guarantor nations (Iran, Russia, Turkey) and international observers – the United Nations and Jordan.

Russia’s Special Presidential Envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev is heading the country’s delegation to the Astana talks, according to the Tass news agency. Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal is leading the Turkish delegation, while the Iranian delegation is headed by Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari.

The 10th round of the Astana Peace Process was held in Sochi, Russia, in July.

During the ninth meeting held on May 14-15, all parties had agreed to maintain the de-escalation zones.

Conflicts erupted in Syria back in 2011, when a small group of opposition forces took up arms against Damascus.

Soon, however, a mix of international terrorists and paid mercenaries mingled with and then largely sidestepped the armed Syrian opposition groups, effectively turning the Arab country into a battlefield for foreign governments opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But the Syrian military, with advisory military help from Iran and Russia — and a Russian aerial bombardment campaign — has retaken control of much of the country, and the conflict is generally believed to be winding down.

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Senior diplomats from Iran, Turkey, and Russia held their second trilateral meeting in Sochi on Tue., prior to the general assembly of the international conference on peace in Syria in the afternoon.

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