On the initiative of the Kyrgyz Republic President Sadyr ZHAPAROV, the United Nations declared the year 2022 as International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development. The corresponding resolution was adopted at the Plenary meeting of the 76^th session of UN General Assembly on December 16, 2021.

The Kyrgyz party had been given a word to present the draft resolution before its further consideration. Speaking from the high rostrum, the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic in New York announced that the initiative to declare 2022 as the year of mountains had been announced by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr ZHAPAROV during the General Debate of the 76^th session of UN General Assembly in September 2021. It was launched to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of the First Global Bishkek Mountain Summit of 2002.

The resolution invites Member States, UN system, other international organizations and stakeholders, including civil society, private sector and academia, to celebrate this international year appropriately in order to raise awareness of the sustainable mountain development importance, as well as conservation and sustainable use mountain ecosystems.

It has become the third resolution on sustainable development of mountain regions, adopted at the initiative of the Kyrgyz Republic. The first resolution entitled “Nature knows no borders ...” was adopted at the 75^th session of the UN General Assembly on April 16, the second one entitled “Strengthening monitoring and research of mountain glaciers” was at the 41^st session of the UNESCO General Conference on November 23.

The resolution on the International Year for Sustainable Mountain Development was adopted unanimously by all Member States. Moreover, 93 countries co-sponsored this document.

Next year, as part of the resolution’s implementation, the Foreign Affairs Ministry will promote the Kyrgyz Republic’s initiative for the adoption of a "Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions" for the period 2023-2027 at the United Nations.