At the invitation of former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the First President of Kazakhstan – President Nursultan Nazarbayev addressed the participants of the Forum for Global Integration and Capacity Building for Sustainable Development, zakon.kz reports.

The message of the President Nursultan Nazarbayev was read by the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tleuber.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the First President of Kazakhstan noted in his message that the rapid spread of COVID-19, its unprecedented tragic consequences and devastating impact on the world economy clearly show how interdependent and fragile our countries are. In this regard, he stressed that this global threat can be overcome only by combining the efforts of the entire international community in various areas of activity.

“One of the priority measures that requires such a joint approach is the equal and fair distribution of the vaccine against COVID-19,” the President said.

Nursultan Nazarbayev reminded that the current decade is very important for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) until 2030, which is a “common global compass for all UN member states.” However, to achieve these goals, states will need more than $ 700 billion. To find the necessary resources, the President proposed to return to the initiative of Kazakhstan to reduce military spending of all countries by 1% and focus on their development goals.

“I have raised this idea several times since 1992 from the UN rostrum, and today it is especially relevant,” he said.

The First President of Kazakhstan noted that the theme of the event in 2021 is fully consistent with the strategic principles of Kazakhstan “Peace, Prosperity and Partnership for Security.”

Through an active, peaceful and responsible foreign policy, Kazakhstan contributes to international security and stability by leading the global anti-nuclear movement, resolving conflicts and promoting development in our region and beyond. At the initiative of the President, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia and the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions were launched.

Speaking about the progress of our country in the field of sustainable development, Nursultan Nazarbayev noted that Kazakhstan has made significant progress on many indicators of socio-economic development and is gradually moving towards becoming one of the 30 most developed countries in the world by 2050. The President reported on future plans to improve the welfare and quality of life of the population, including increasing investment in health and education to 10% of GDP over the next 5 years and diversifying the economy.

The keynote speakers were also the President of Colombia Ivan Duke Marquez, the First Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Amina Mohammed and the 12th President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim.

The Forum for Global Integration and Capacity Building for Sustainable Development has been held since 2018 at the initiative of the 8th UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Due to the pandemic, this year’s forum was held in hybrid mode. The co-chairs of the forum, former Austrian President Heinz Fischer and President of Yonsei University So Song Hwan, noted the important contribution of the President to the maintenance of global peace and partnership. The event will be held at Yonsei University. Earlier, the first President of Kazakhstan was awarded the title of Honorary Doctor of this prestigious university.