Tokayev postpones the Astana International Forum to 2025 due to flooding
Tokayev postpones the Astana International Forum to 2025 due to flooding.
Report: Hani Kamal El-Din
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has decided to cancel the Astana International Forum scheduled for June 13-14 in order to save funds for the relief efforts of the devastating floods.
“In light of the unprecedented flooding in Kazakhstan and the need to save financial resources for the elimination of massive destruction and aid to the country’s citizens, I have decided to cancel the Astana International Forum scheduled for June 13-14 of this year,” he wrote on Saturday on his X page.
“I hope that the invited participants of the event will understand this decision,” Tokayev noted. “The Astana International Forum will resume its work in 2025.”
The Astana International Forum, initiated by Kazakhstan, is a dialogue platform aimed at uniting efforts to address key global issues. The forum provides a platform for high-level delegates from international governments, organizations, business, and academic circles to dialogue and seek solutions to issues such as climate change, food shortages, and energy security.
Kazakhstan is facing a difficult situation with spring floods, which have become the most extensive in the past 80 years.
As reported on Saturday morning by the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic, 102,328 people have been evacuated from flood-affected areas in Kazakhstan since the beginning of the flood period. 10,120 people have returned home. According to the department, 6,757 people are currently in temporary accommodation centers.
It was reported at a meeting in the republican headquarters yesterday that at present, the probability of a second wave of floods exists in five regions of the republic – Atyrau, West Kazakhstan, East Kazakhstan, Akmola, and North Kazakhstan regions, while the situation has stabilized in six regions (Aktobe, Kostanay, Karaganda, Pavlodar, as well as Abai and Ulytau regions).”
