On Tuesday January 10, Kazakhstan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the first time participated in its Open Debate on Conflict Prevention and Sustaining Peace, where Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov presented President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s policy address to UNSC members.

On January 1, Kazakhstan became the first of Central Asia’s nations he five to hold a seat on the 15-nation council.  Its permanent members are the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France.

Kazakh media reports say that presenting Nazarbayev’s address on the occasion of the beginning of Kazakhstan’s duties as a non-permanent member of the UNSC for 2017-2018, Abdrakhmanov highlighted that the appeal was based on the principles of the Kazakh President’s earlier Manifesto “The World. The 21st Century.”

The new document, “Kazakhstan’s Concept Vision on Sustaining Global Partnership for Secure, Just and Prosperous World,” heavily stresses the need for joint efforts and cooperation in strengthening international peace and security.

In his address, President Nazarbayev said that Astana intends to “work on an equal basis with all Security Council members to promote compromise and consensus” to help strengthen international peace and security, the address reads in its direct appeal to UNSC members.

According to Nazarbayev, “Kazakhstan will work in a balanced and unbiased manner on the council’s entire agenda keeping in mind the paramount importance of maintaining and strengthening peace and security.”

In this regard, the address identifies some of Astana’s priorities in its work as a non-permanent member of the UNSC.  Among them are: moving towards a world free of nuclear weapons, preventing the threat of global war, promoting peace in Afghanistan and creating a regional peace zone in Central Asia, shaping a global antiterrorist coalition (network) under the auspices of the UN, promoting the peaceful development of Africa, adapting the UNSC’s activities to the demands of the 21st century and elaborating a set-up for regular meetings of UNSC member states at the level of heads of state and governments to strengthen a collective political will to address global challenges.