Foreign Ministry supports project of reintroduction of Przewalski’s horses to Kazakhstan
On February 29, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Roman Vassilenko met with a Czech delegation led by Director of Prague Zoo Miroslav Bobek, who arrived in Astana to discuss the project on the reintroduction of Przewalski’s horses in Kazakhstan, the press service of the Kazakh MFA reported.
The parties discussed further implementation of the project and agreed to make joint efforts to ensure the successful reintroduction of the horses. This endeavor is of importance both for Kazakhstan and for the restoration of biological diversity on the planet.
“I am very pleased that the project, originating from informal discussions between our embassies in Bratislava and Prague and the Bratislava and Prague zoos, has received such powerful development and support from the governments of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Czech Republic,” said Roman Vassilenko during the meeting.
“I would like to assure our Czech friends and colleagues from other ministries of Kazakhstan that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan will fully support this important and kind project,” he noted.
In April 2023, during the visit of Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala to Astana , the Forestry and Wildlife Committee of the Kazakh Ministry of Ecology and the Prague Zoo signed a memorandum of cooperation which laid the foundation for the project on reintroduction of Przewalski’s horses to Kazakhstan.
The project aims to relocate about 40 horses from Europe to Kazakhstan within five years, establishing the groundwork for the reintroduced population and recreation of the original functional steppe ecosystems.
