ASTANA, January 13. /TASS/. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev believes that international trade in food and fertilizers should not be subject to sanctions. He expressed this opinion speaking at the Voice of the Global South Summit on Friday.
"The President said that Kazakhstan intends to continue to use its agricultural potential to combat global food shortages. In his opinion, international trade in food and fertilizers should not be subject to sanctions or other restrictions," the Kazakh leader's press service said in a statement.
It was noted that in this context, Tokayev supported the call of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to depoliticize the global supply of food, fertilizers and medical products.
"Along with this, the head of state noted that in the current geopolitical situation, a reliable and diversified global transit and transport infrastructure is of particular importance. He said that Kazakhstan is working on the diversification of transport routes and is actively developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor (Middle Corridor)," the press service said.
The President of Kazakhstan also called on all countries to focus their efforts on achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. According to him, the implementation of these goals requires joint efforts not only at the level of individual states, but also at the regional and global levels.
"Therefore, we consider it important to create in Kazakhstan the UN Regional Center for the UN Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan. Such a center will ensure the most effective coordination of UN project activities in the region," Tokayev stressed.
He also touched upon the issues of ensuring water security. More than 5 billion people may face shortages of drinking water due to climate change, according to a UN report. According to Tokayev, the lack of water and the growing instability negatively affect the provision of food, energy and environmental security of states.
India is hosting the Voice of Global South Summit on January 12-13. The summit has the theme "Unity of voice, unity of purpose."’ Representatives of more than 120 states are invited to participate in the event which is held in a videoconference format.