Water has moved to the global agenda. Kazakhstan is advancing a proposal to establish an International Water Organization under the auspices of the United Nations and sees Geneva’s expert potential as an important platform for discussing a new architecture of global water governance, DKNews.kz reports.
The initiative of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was discussed by Yerzhan Kazykhan, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, and Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.
Kazakhstan Proposes a Dedicated International Platform on Water
The global water agenda was one of the key topics of the meeting.
The Kazakh side presented the proposal to create an International Water Organization under the auspices of the UN as part of a broader initiative to strengthen the global system of water resources governance.
Special attention was given to Geneva.
The city hosts numerous UN agencies and international organizations that can contribute to expert and diplomatic dialogue on global water issues.
For Kazakhstan, the issue also has a clear foreign-policy dimension: water resources require cross-border cooperation, making them difficult to address within the framework of a single country.
New Political Model Faces Its First Electoral Test on August 23
The meeting also covered Kazakhstan’s domestic political transformation.
Kazykhan briefed Tatiana Valovaya on the political and institutional reforms following the adoption of the new Constitution, as well as further improvements to the system of public administration.
Particular attention was paid to the Qurultay elections scheduled for August 23.
The Kazakh side views the elections as one of the key stages in the practical implementation of the new constitutional model.
This means that the country’s political reforms were presented in Geneva not merely as changes on paper, but as a process moving toward the formation of new institutions through elections.
Palace of Nations to Mark 20 Years of Central Asia’s Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone
Another major topic was nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
Kazakhstan is preparing an event at the Palace of Nations in Geneva to mark the 20th anniversary of the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia.
Promoting a nuclear-weapon-free world remains one of Kazakhstan’s consistent priorities in international diplomacy.
The upcoming event will provide another opportunity to present Central Asia’s experience in nuclear non-proliferation on the UN platform.
UN80 Reform Also Raises Questions About Geneva’s Role
Kazykhan and Valovaya discussed ongoing reforms of the United Nations system, including the UN80 initiative.
In this context, they addressed the importance of preserving and further strengthening Geneva’s role as one of the main centers of multilateral diplomacy.
For Kazakhstan, the issue also has a practical dimension.
The meeting touched on expanding the representation of Kazakh professionals within UN structures, giving more citizens of Kazakhstan an opportunity to participate directly in the work of international institutions.
Kazakhstan Brings Several Priorities to Geneva at Once
The talks showed that Kazakhstan’s current UN agenda spans several major areas.
The country’s new political model, the August 23 elections, nuclear disarmament diplomacy, water resources, and reform of the UN system all featured in one discussion.
Among them, the proposal on global water governance stands out as one of Kazakhstan’s most concrete international initiatives.
The next question is whether the idea of an International Water Organization will gain further institutional support within the UN system and which countries will be ready to join the discussion.
