Kazakhstan Among First Countries to Join Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative: Deputy Minister

Photo: Kazinform

Kazakhstan is among the first countries to join Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative adopted during the ongoing COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan, Kazakh Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ermek Kenzhekhanuly said.

"I extend my deep gratitude to the government of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Agriculture for organizing such a grand event. This large-scale gathering includes participation from countries worldwide. Kazakhstan is actively involved in all events related to agriculture,” he noted, The Caspian Post reports, citing AZERTAC.

“We support Azerbaijan's initiatives, especially the Baku Harmoniya Initiative. Kazakhstan is among the first countries to join it. Together with Azerbaijan, we will make decisions and take steps on climate change,” the deputy minister added.

The launch of Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers: Empowering Farmers for Climate Resilience was held as part of COP29 in Baku on Tuesday.

Co-organized by COP29 Presidency, Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan in partnership with FAO, the event brought together representatives of international organizations and experts from different countries featuring discussions on the impact of global climate changes on food security, agriculture and water resources.

Addressing the, event, Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 President, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, said that around 50 percent of the population in Azerbaijan live in rural areas and 36 percent of the total employment is in agriculture sector. “The Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative has three main goals. First, we aim to simplify the agriculture initiatives. We want to create a platform where farmers, stakeholders and policy makers can share knowledge and learn from each other. This will make collaboration easier and more effective. Second, we seek to make investments in agriculture more attractive. By working with multilateral development banks and private banks, we can unlock funding for sustainable funding. Partnership will be key to driving this change. Third, we are committed to empowering farmers, especially women and youth,” he added.

Majnun Mammadov, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Agriculture, emphasized that agriculture is a crucial sector globally. “However, farmers, those on the front lines of agricultural production, remain some of the most vulnerable to climate change. They experience its impacts directly and often immediately,” the minister noted.

Speaking at the event, Viorel Gutu, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, highlighted the impacts of climate change on various economic sectors, including agriculture. “Over the past 10 years, there has been a significant development of initiatives, coalitions, networks, alliances, and partnerships, relevant to the nexus of agrifood systems, climate change and finance. We need greater coordination to carry out more impactful climate action and drive more rapid transformation of agrifood systems. We are happy to see this ambition reflected in the first objective of the Harmoniya Initiative. We are also hopeful that coordination between the COP Presidencies will ensure the coherence and continuity of climate actions in the agrifood sector in the future,” he underlined.