Joint Statement by the Foreign Ministers of CSTO Member States on the United Nations Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan

We, the Foreign Ministers of the Member States of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, welcome the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of Resolution A/79/L.57/Rev.l of March 4, 2025, establishing a UN Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan, to be located in Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.

We reaffirm the firm commitment of CSTO Member States to building international relations based on the universally recognised principles and norms of international law, first and foremost the UN Charter.

We express our shared interest in furthering cooperation in the Central Asian region to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to strengthen good-neighbourly relations.

We reaffirm our intention to support Afghanistan in its development as a peaceful and stable country and express our readiness to participate in international efforts for Afghanistan’s reconstruction, under the central coordinating role of the United Nations.
We call on the international community to step up humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.

We believe that the establishment of the UN Regional Centre for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan will help promote cooperation aimed at strengthening peaceful dialogue across the Eurasian space and enhance the complementarity of the UN development system’s work in the region, with greater focus on implementing concrete projects and addressing key socioeconomic development priorities.

We are confident that the Centre, operating within its mandate, will contribute to the coordinated implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Landlocked Countries.

We emphasise the importance of the UN development system reform, initiated by the UN Secretary-General, which aims to enhance the system’s effectiveness in supporting Member States in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.  We reaffirm our readiness to jointly leverage the potential of the Regional Centre to advance these goals.