Dear Mr, President
Distinguished heads of delegations Dear Secretary General
I would like to sincerely congratulate the brotherly Hungary on the election of its high representative as the President of the Seventy-Seventh Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
I wish the honorable Mr. Chaba Kyoroshi every success in such an important international position.
You can always count on full support of the Kyrgyz Republic.
At the same time, I would like to thank Mr. Abdullah Shahid, the President of the previous session of the UN General Assembly, for his hard work during the difficult times for the world community, as well as for supporting the international initiatives of our country.
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
The United Nations was established 77 years ago after the worst world war in the history of the mankind.
Perhaps the founding states of the UN, who signed the international agreement to establish the organization in San Francisco in 1945, naively believed that wars, destruction, hunger, and suffering would end forever?
I don’t think so.
Success can always be achieved if there is a mutual understanding that disputes and disagreements must be resolved in a spirit of good faith and compromise.
In the history of UN, there have been many important victories and successes.
Although conflicts occur with varying degrees of severity in different regions of the world, the UN has played an important unifying role as moral authority in maintaining peace and security, and providing for people’s needs and wants.
Now, in the conditions of an unprecedented complication of the geopolitical situation in the world, which has created alarming expectations in the international community due to the threat of the destruction of the fundamental foundations of peaceful coexistence and the inevitability of a major war, it is important for all of us to remember the high goals and objectives that were fixed in the UN Charter, namely: “To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace; to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples”.
Ever since our country became a state, we have consistently and strictly followed the UN Charter and have been fulfilling our duties in good faith.
This March marked exactly thirty years since our country joined the United Nations, and recently, on August 31, we celebrated the thirty-first anniversary of the independence of the Kyrgyz Republic.
We always strive to “resolve our international disputes by peaceful means”.
In international relations, we always refrain “from the threat or use of force as against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state…”.
Looking back at the thorny path passed by our country, we highly appreciate the multifaceted contribution of the UN to the formation of Kyrgyzstan as an independent and sovereign state, an equal and responsible member of the international community.
Our people will never forget the support and assistance of the UN family in the formation of political, public and civil institutions, the strengthening of democracy, and the development of a market economy.
On behalf of our generous people and on my own behalf, I express my gratitude to all the leaders and staff of the UN system, who sincerely and selflessly helped us to realize the centuries-old dream of the Kyrgyz people to create their own independent state. Thank you very much!
Dear Mr President,
Taking this opportunity, I would like to present to the world community from this high podium the actual situation that is developing on the southern borders of our country, taking into account the latest events related to the another aggravation of the situation on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.
First, let me briefly touch on the history.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991 paved a way for territorial disputes and border problems.
Some of them have not been regulated to this day.
If there were more than twenty disputed areas along the entire perimeter of the Soviet-Chinese border, five of them were in Kyrgyzstan.
I want to proudly remind the world community that we have successfully completed issues of border regulation, first with the People’s Republic of China in 1996 and jointly with the Republic of Kazakhstan at the point of intersection of the state borders of the three countries in 1999; then with the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2017.
We have now practically completed our joint work and are about to sign the Agreement on the State Border with the Republic of Uzbekistan.
I am pleased to note that the state borders with these three neighboring countries have become the borders of peace, good neighborliness, friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation.
With regard to relations with the Republic of Tajikistan, I would like to note the following.
Our two close neighboring peoples have been living side by side for a long time.
We are united by common values, culture, traditions and customs, we share the same faith.
Our peoples are intertwined by family ties.
Our legendary father Manas was married to the Tajik princess Kanykey.
I would like to also remind that legally the collapse of the Soviet Union occurred on December 21, 1991 in the city of Alma-Ata of the Republic of Kazakhstan, when the heads of 11 newly independent states adopted the
Alma-Ata Declaration “On the Creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States”.
The Declaration stated that independent states recognize and respect each other’s territorial integrity and the inviolability of existing borders.
They indicate that “the strengthening of relations of friendship, good neighborliness and mutually beneficial cooperation, which have deep historical roots, meets the fundamental interests of the people and serve the cause of peace and security.”
It is written that the countries feel their “responsibility to maintain civil peace and international harmony”.
This legal document was signed by all the 11 Presidents of the member states to the Commonwealth of Independent States, including the Republic of Tajikistan.
This principle was confirmed by the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon in the Moscow Declaration of the CIS “On respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and immunity of borders of the State Parties of the Commonwealth of Independent States” dated April 15, 1994.
He signed and agreed.
It is a pity that he is deviating from the principle now.
He made his first official visit to the Kyrgyz Republic in 1998 after the end of the bloody civil war in Tajikistan.
Later, two bilateral interstate agreements were concluded between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan: the Agreement on the Basic Interstate Relations of July 12, 1996 and the Agreement on Good Neighborly and Partnership Relations of May 26, 2004.
I want to note that both agreements were signed in Dushanbe.
From the very beginning of work on the settlement of border issues between our two states, the Kyrgyz side has always acted in full compliance with its international obligations, including bilateral ones, conducted negotiations in a constructive manner, offering mutually beneficial compromises.
I would like to note that in April 2021, the armed forces of Tajikistan launched an unjustified unprovoked large-scale aggression on our territory, killing 36 citizens and caused serious material damage.
Although my decision to meet the President of the Republic of Tajikistan in Dushanbe was heavily criticized by the Kyrgyz people (who demanded that I meet in a neutral location), none the less I flew to Dushanbe and met with the President Rahmon in June last year to try and find a mutually beneficial solutions to the border issues.
For the sake of my people, I am ready to spend not only ten hours on negotiations, as on that day, but to spend as much time as possible to solve this issue once and for all.
Of course, whatever the solution is, it should be mutually beneficial. It is all the more painful for me to report that on September 14, 15 and
16 of this year, large-scale military clashes took place in the south of Kyrgyzstan.
Despite all previously negotiated agreements, the Tajik side attacked border and civilian objects along the entire perimeter of the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border.
About 140,000 of our civilians have been evacuated from border settlements. They are being provided with the necessary assistance.
In this regard, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the UN system, our friends and partners for their solidarity and support.
Great material damage was caused to civilian and military facilities: houses, administrative buildings, schools, frontier posts.
Any material damage can be restored.
However, you cannot return the lives of our citizens who were fired upon and brave defenders who died fighting for their homeland and sacrificed their lives.
We will never forget the bravery of our courageous soldiers.
We are deeply saddened by the unjustified armed aggressions by Tajikistan, even though there are international agreements and obligations that have been established between our countries.
Pacta sunt servanda, Latin for “agreements must be kept”
We are ready to continue in any format the negotiation process with our Tajik neighbors based on international rules and civilized legal ways.
Taking into account that our trust has been weakened by the recent lawless actions of our neighbor, we are ready to continue negotiations and welcome mediation efforts by international organizations, including the UN, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Collective Security Treaty Organization.
We have documented evidence of the previous year’s and yesterday’s
illegal and ill-intentioned actions of the Tajik side. We are never the first to start and never will.
We always try to avoid using weapons, and even more so, never shoot at unarmed civilians!
We are always forced to adequately respond to the aggression of the Tajik side.
In this regard, I would like to emphasize the following: the Kyrgyz side does not claim foreign lands, nor does it intend to give a centimeter of its land to anyone.
We are convinced that all border and internal issues should be resolved over the negotiation table, and there is such will and readiness on our part.
The most important issue today is the adoption of urgent measures to ensure security and stability in the border areas, stop any actions aimed at increasing tensions among the local population, and strengthen the trust between our two states.
We are always ready for negotiations and clarification of our borders.
Dear Mr President,
Regarding the general UN issues, I would like to note the following. This year as half of the implementation period of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals until 2030 has passed and we can now objectively look at the real situation at hand.
The adoption of the SDGs in 2015 under the motto “Leave no one behind” was a bright example of the constructive negotiation capacity of the world community in the interests of all of us and subsequent generations.
Meanwhile, it has already become obvious that due to objective circumstances, including due to the coronavirus pandemic, the implementation of the sustainable development goals in developing countries, including our country, has slowed down, and without adequate international funding, many of them may not even achieve the critical indicators of the sustainable development goals.
On my part, I want to confirm the firm commitment of the Kyrgyz Republic to the SDGs and their gradual implementation, taking into account national capacity.
I believe that our country’s own potential should be the main source and engine of sustainable development.
For these purposes, our efforts are aimed at achieving an accelerated and qualitative growth of the economy, including through mutually beneficial regional and international trade and investment cooperation.
For example, Kyrgyzstan actively participates in integration and cooperation processes, including the Eurasian Economic Union and the “One Belt – One Road” initiative of the People’s Republic of China.
On my part, I want to confirm the firm commitment of the Kyrgyz Republic to the SDGs and their gradual implementation, taking into account national capacity.
I believe that our country’s own potential should be the main source and engine of sustainable development.
For these purposes, our efforts are aimed at achieving an accelerated and qualitative growth of the economy, including through mutually beneficial regional and international trade and investment cooperation.
For example, Kyrgyzstan actively participates in integration and cooperation processes, including the Eurasian Economic Union and the “One Belt – One Road” initiative of the People’s Republic of China.
As part of the ongoing policy, priority is given to the development of a “green”, “digital” and “creative” economy.
The country is actively developing the locomotive of the “green economy”: hydropower industry; small and medium-sized hydropower plants are being put into operation.
Our esteemed neighbors – Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan – will participate in the construction of the largest hydroelectric power station – Kambarata, because this will strengthen theenergy security and optimize the use of water resources in the region.
In general, I want to note the spirit of unity, mutual understanding, trust and support, which was demonstrated in the city of Cholpon-Ata two months ago, when the Fourth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia was held under the chairmanship of Kyrgyzstan.
I hope that the signing by all parties of the Cholpon-Ata Agreement “On Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation for the Development of Central Asia in the 21st Century” will open a new page in our interstate relations.
We are committed to continuing work in this format.
Dear Secretary General, Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,
At the end of my speech, I want to assure you that Kyrgyzstan fully supports the UN as the only universal structure authorized by all of us – the member states of the UN – to solve the challenges faced by humanity.
I hope that the UN will continue to properly perform all its functions and assist member states in overcoming challenges and solving urgent global problems.
I urge all member states to provide unconditional political support and solidarity to the Organization in this difficult international time.
Dear Mr. President,
Dear ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your attention.
