Nazarbayev named Astana among cities where UN headquarters could move
"At the invitation of the UN Secretary General I took part in the session devoted to the Organization's 70th anniversary. During the general debates I outlined Kazakhstan's position on all political and economic issues. I participated also in two summits - one about the fight against extremism and terrorism. The second summit ended with adoption of the UN Program for 2015-2030. I participated in three discussions. The jubilee session provided me a good opportunity to meet my foreign counterparts including U.S. President Barack Obama," the Head of State said at a briefing following the Summit on Countering Violent Extremism on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly's 70th jubilee session. Kazakhstan's most important proposition was to transform the ECOSOC into a global development council. The second initiative was to develop a special UN 2045 Program. Nuclear safety issues were touched upon as well. Nazarbayev said that during the session he proposed all countries to unite their efforts in a struggle against terrorism. He called the participating countries to join Astana EXPO-2017 and expressed confidence that Central Asian countries would gain support in solution of their environmental problems including those linked to the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Testing Site. Besides, the President suggested moving the UN headquarters to Asia. "40 thousand people are working for the UN to date. Nobody knows where they work and what they do. 5 bln 500 mln is spent annually for their salaries only. I suggested to relocate the headquarters to "shake up" the UN workers as I did once with Kazakh authorities when moving the capital city from Almaty to Astana. Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul and Astana are the rapidly developing cities of Asia. Of course, the question of moving the UN office requires thorough discussion," the President noted.
