On June 17, Kazakhstan’s ambassador to South Korea, Nurgali Arystanov, participated in a celebration of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, established by a UN General Assembly resolution in 1994.
Organized in Seoul by the Korea Forest Service, the event was attended by major Korean companies, private and international organizations including the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), as well as students from ecological clubs promoting anti-desertification activities.
In his speech, reported by Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry, Arystanov noted the successful cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Republic of Korea in the development of forestry, including a joint project to plant saxaul on the desiccated bed of the Aral Sea. He also hailed Astana’s Kazakhstan-Korea Friendship Garden a “symbol of friendship between the Kazakh and Korean peoples.”
The ambassador expressed his appreciation of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan and the Korea Forest Service during Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to Kazakhstan on June 11-13. The document provides for cooperation in combating forest fires and the introduction of advanced technologies for monitoring forests using drones, artificial intelligence, and satellites.
Progress on cooperation in the forestry sector was further discussed by Ambassador Arystanov and the Minister of the Korea Forest Service, Nam Sung-Hyun, during the former’s visit to Seoul.
