By Ramesh Jaura

ASTANA (IDN) – Kazakhstan, which is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2017-2018, played a crucial role in the summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), chaired by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, on June 8-9 in Astana.

The United Nations drew much of the focus of the SCO heads of state gathered in the Kazakh capital city. But they also underlined the importance of the Organisation’s further consolidation as an effective full-fledged regional platform aimed at active participation in building a more equitable, polycentric model of the world order.…

By Ramesh Jaura

ASTANA (IDN) – Within days of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit and opening of the ‘EXPO 2017: Future Energy‘, Roman Vassilenko, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, proudly refers to “25 achievements of Kazakhstan’s diplomacy in 25 years” and speaks of a “truly historic moment” in the country’s “modern history”.

One such achievement, according to Vassilenko, is launching the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), a multinational forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia on the basis of the UN Charter.

The idea of convening the CICA was first proposed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev on October 5, 1992, at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. This initiative aimed at setting up an efficient and acceptable structure for ensuring peace and security in Asia.…

By Nobuyuki Asai

Note: The writer belongs to the Office of Peace and Global Issues, Soka Gakkai International (SGI), based in Tokyo. He attended the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction conference, held in Cancun from May 22 to 26 – The Editor

TOKYO (IDN-INPS) – Clarification of numerical targets was one of the main issues in this conference. According to an expert, relevant statistics standards vary from country to country and, while their unification is a challenge, it was agreed on this occasion that steps should be taken in this direction. Further progress was also made with announcement of the formation of a civil society disaster risk reduction (DRR) advisory group aimed at putting people at the centre of DRR.…

By Ramesh Jaura

ASTANA (IDN) – UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appreciated Kazakhstan for playing “an increasingly dynamic role on the international stage” as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, stressed the importance of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and urged it to show leadership on climate change.

Obviously delighted at the UN Chief’s participation in the SCO Summit, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev noted: “This is the first time in the SCO history the UN Secretary-General takes part in its work. And it is quite symbolic that it has coincided with the accession of two new members – India and Pakistan. It means that the organization is becoming the real political power in the international arena.” JAPANESE…