Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia – 24-25 August 2026 – Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Ambassador Kairat Sarybay attended the Seventeenth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP17) in Ulaanbaatar upon the invitation of the Government of Mongolia.
Opening the high-level segment, H.E. Mr. Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, President of Mongolia, called for immediate unified action backed by scientific innovation and financial commitment to combat desertification and drought as an existential threat affecting 3 billion people. Outlining Mongolia's COP17 presidency priorities, anchored in nature-based solutions and integrated land management, President Khurelsukh underscored that bridging traditional nomadic wisdom with modern innovations like AI is crucial to protecting our shared future.
On the sidelines of COP17, CICA Secretary General Kairat Sarybay held a bilateral meeting with the COP17 President, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia H.E. Ms. Battsetseg Batmunkh. Secretary General Sarybay briefed the Foreign Minister on CICA’s key achievements under the Azerbaijani Chairmanship and ongoing preparations for the 7th CICA Summit in Baku. The sides reviewed progress on CICA’s institutional track, including the growing network of its advisory bodies with newly established Women Council and Finance Summit.
Highlighting Mongolia’s dual role as COP17 President and coordinator for the Environment Protection priority area under the CICA Environmental Dimension, Secretary General underscored that the country’s efforts perfectly bridge regional cooperation with global objectives, unlocking vital synergies between CICA and the UN to tackle shared climate challenges.
As part of the UNCCD COP17 framework, CICA Secretary General Sarybay joined the Ministerial Meeting of Landlocked Developing Countries on Land Degradation, Desertification and Drought to advance action on land restoration, drought resilience, water, rangelands and food systems.
Commending Mongolia’s leadership as COP17 host, he noted that the country brings direct national experience of the interconnection between land degradation, drought, livelihoods and sustainable development.
Secretary General Sarybay emphasized that for landlocked countries, true connectivity extends beyond transit corridors, expanding on the concept of sustainable connectivity by highlighting that infrastructure and ecology must support each other. He further highlighted CICA initiatives, including the upcoming CICA Conference of Heads of Ports in Baku, which will focus on promoting green transport and environmental sustainability.
Concluding his remarks with the message that “landlocked should never mean disconnected”, Secretary General Sarybay underlined that regional platforms like CICA complement UN efforts by connecting national, subregional and global processes to translate dialogue into practical cooperation, ensuring that environmental resilience becomes an integral part of connectivity and development across the continent.
Against this backdrop of pressing global challenges, CICA aligned regional efforts with the objectives of UNCCD COP17 through a joint panel session hosted at the Türkiye Pavilion by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of the Republic of Türkiye with the support of the CICA Secretariat.
Entitled "Sustainable Land Management and Ecosystem Restoration in the CICA Region: Why It Matters", the panel brought together international experts, researchers and representatives of Member States to exchange practical solutions on drought resilience, rangeland management and land degradation neutrality, reinforcing CICA’s commitment to sustainable development and ecological security across the Asian continent.
In his welcoming remarks, Secretary General Sarybay emphasized that despite diverse Asian landscapes, CICA Member States share a common understanding of interconnected environmental threats, including climate change, land degradation, biodiversity loss and drought.
Positioning CICA as a bridge between UN frameworks and regional action, he noted that CICA Member States unite their efforts to translate shared experience into practical cooperation. He underscored CICA's advancing environmental agenda, which builds on the first-ever CICA Ministerial Conference on Environmental Issues of 2024, Azerbaijan’s COP29 legacy and the corresponding priorities of the Azerbaijani Chairmanship, paving the way for further engagement in major environmental fora of this year, such the UNFCCC COP31 in Antalya and the UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi.
The panel featured diverse perspectives on combating land degradation and other related topics within the panel’s theme. The event was addressed by the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Mongolia Mr. Almas Seitakynov who outlined several national priorities in this area.
The discussion covered diverse approaches to ecosystem restoration, with experts providing a comprehensive overview of how targeted and resilient practices can safeguard ecosystems across the region.
Mr. Burak Avcıoğlu, International Forestry Specialist representing the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, presented on Central Asian initiatives and land degradation monitoring. Turkish representatives Mr. Muhammed Ali Özderya from General Directorate of Forestry and Ms. Zehra Kavaklı Karataş from General Directorate of Combating Desertification and Erosion shared national experiences in forest and rangeland restoration, while Dr. Abdelaziz Hajjaji Programme Manager of the Secretariat of the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS), highlighted drought resilience and rangeland well-being as vital factors for food security.
