Bilateral meeting with H.E. Olzhas Bektenov, Prime Minister the Republic of Kazakhstan

Astana - FAO Director-General, Dr QU Dongyu and H.E. Olzhas Bektenov, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, met on the sidelines of the Astana International Forum 2025 during the Director-General’s three-day visit in Kazakhstan, to discuss cooperation between FAO and Kazakhstan.

The Prime Minister welcomed the Director-General in Kazakhstan and expressed his confidence that the visit would bring the collaboration to new levels. He noted that FAO was a strategic partner for Kazakhstan for the implementation of the country’s ambitious goals in agriculture developments, such as to increase the share of exports of value-added products and organic production.

The Director-General thanked Kazakhstan for its hospitality and noted that the country played an important role for the food security of the region. The Director-General further noted that with the appropriate strategic planning over the next coming years Kazakhstan could play an important role not just at the regional level, but on a global scale and in this regard referred to the annual World Food Forum to be held at FAO headquarters in October 2025 as an important platform to publicize Kazakhstan and attract necessary investments.

The Prime Minister highlighted that there was a strong commitment by the Government to ensure timely implementation and financing of the FAO-Kazakhstan Partnership Programme, in particular in priority areas such as the development of crop breeding and seed production through the Kazakh Varieties and Seeds Initiative, and combating land degradation in northern Kazakhstan.

The pair agreed to continue working together to ensure agrifood system transformation in the country, and beyond, to ensure the Four Betters – better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life - leaving no one behind.