The city of Almaty will acquire the status of the UN regional centre, Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov said after the meeting with the heads of the UN Agencies in Kazakhstan.
"Realization of Kazakhstani plans of transformation of Almaty city into a sub-regional hub of multilateral diplomacy will become good foundation for further cooperation", Kazinform quoted the Foreign Minister as saying.
Kazykhanov believes granting Almaty with the UN regional centre status would contribute to scale fulfillment of regional projects purposed to strengthen cooperation in Central Asia. It will also push forward the process of involvement to so called "assistance circle" to the neighboring states and regions, he said.
Kazykhanov stated that relations between Kazakhstan and the UN have advanced over the last years. Numerous visits of UN high-ranking officials prove the fact.
During the recent years Kazakhstan hosted twice UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, UNESCAP Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe Jan Kubiš, UN FAO Director General Jacques Diouf and UN WTO Secretary General Francesco Frangialli.
Also former Kazakh Parliamentary Speaker Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev has been appointed as UN Under-Secretary General and Director General of the UN Office at Geneva.