Kazakhstan, UNHCR discuss cooperation

GENEVA. KAZINFORM - Yerlan Alimbayev, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva, discussed with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi the current bilateral cooperation and prospects for its further development, Kazinform cites the press service of Akorda.

Grandi, noting the stabilization of the domestic political situation in Kazakhstan after the January events, highly appreciated the ongoing political reforms in the country. As a constructive step of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the head of the UNHCR called the transfer this year of some functions on refugee issues from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population.

Alimbayev spoke in detail about the political reforms being carried out by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, including the amendments to the Constitution, as well as the successful defense in the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at the end of April 2022 in Geneva 8-10 joint reports on the implementation of the International Convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination by Kazakhstan. This step was also positively received by the head of UNHCR.

Moreover, the parties discussed possible cooperation in the issue of financing the Almaty Process - a consultative platform for the protection of refugees and international migration in Central Asia, and also exchanged information regarding refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan and expressed their readiness to cooperate in providing them with possible assistance.

In conclusion, both sides agreed to continue cooperation in the humanitarian sphere through the implementation of joint projects.