This week, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is visiting Central Asia, where he will call for peace at a time of heightened international tension.
The Times of Central Asia says Guterres arrived in Uzbekistan on the weekend and will also travel to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. He´ll be in the Kazakh capital of Astana on July 4 to address the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
The SCO is a forum for discussion of security, economic and political issues that is viewed in some circles as a counter to Western power and alliances, although Central Asian countries also have longstanding ties with Europe and the United States.
The SCO’s members are China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, India and Pakistan. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said he expects Belarus to become a new member of the group at the Astana meeting
Mr. Guterres will highlight “our common commitment” to multilateralism, international law and human rights, and is ”also expected to underscore that today’s deep global divisions are preventing countries from coming together to resolve the two serious threats emerging from climate change and digital technologies,” United Nations spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said in New York on Friday.
Mr. Guterres delivered a similar message at last year’s SCO meeting, which was hosted via video-conference by India. The U.N. chief said divisions and geopolitical tensions were growing even as the need for countries to work together was becoming more urgent.
Recall, during his tour of Central Asia’s nations in June 2017, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres travelled to Dushanbe June 11 where, upon arrival, he met with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
The next morning, he addressed the opening ceremony of a national conference on the Sustainable Development Goals, during which he stressed that achieving the 2030 Agenda will require cooperation and innovative partnerships, with the engagement of all stakeholders.
Following this event, the Secretary-General flew to Lake Sarez, in the Pamir Mountains. He stressed that Tajikistan faces unique threats from the impacts of climate change, with almost 30 per cent of its glaciers having melted in the last 10 years alone.
He then went to Darvaz district of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), where he visited the boundary bridge at the border point.
