Leaders from across the region and international organizations gathered in Astana, Kazakhstan, for the opening of the RES 2026 Summit, where Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev officially welcomed the high-level participants at the Astana EXPO Center.

The summit, developed in cooperation with the United Nations and other global institutions, serves as a major dialogue platform focused on environmental protection, ecosystem restoration, and the sustainable use of water and land resources across Central Asia. It also aims to strengthen regional cooperation on biodiversity conservation, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

Among the attending leaders are Presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Mongolia, and Georgia, alongside Azerbaijan’s prime minister and senior UN officials.

Key participants include Sadyr Japarov, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Emomali Rahmon, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, Vahagn Khachaturyan, Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, and Mikheil Kavelashvili, as well as Ali Asadov.

From the United Nations side, attendees include Under-Secretary-General Li Junhua, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen, and UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean.