On December 11, 2020 the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN in New York in cooperation with the Offices of FAO and UNEP held the traditional side-event on occasion of International Mountain Day, on behalf of the Group of Friends of Mountainous Countries. The main goal of side-event was the development of dialogue between mountainous Member States and relevant UN institutions. 

Permanent Representatives of Andorra, Austria, Nepal, Tajikistan and  Switzerland, as well as H.E. Mr. Liu Zhenmin, the Under Secretary for Economic and Social Affairs, H.E. Ms. Mirjana Spoljaric-Egger, the UNDP Assistant Administrative, Ms. Maria-Helena Semedo, the FAO Deputy Director, Ms. Satya S. Tripathi, Head of UNEP Office in New York, made statements as the keynote speakers. In addition the high-level representatives of the Alpine Convention Secretariat and the Pyrenean Climate Change Observatory. Also the representatives of International Climate for Integrated Mountain Development and the Columbia University.   

In her statement Mirgul Moldoisaeva, Permanent Representative of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN, announced the necessity of biodiversity preservation as the basis for preservation of pandemics, natural disasters and sustainable development of mountainous countries through the balanced exploitation of natural resources. Also she again noted the importance of cooperation development between mountainous Member States and undelined the necessity of further development of current and new initiatives on the promotion of sustainable mountain development. In this regard Mirgul Moldoisaeva informed about the Kyrgyz Republic’s intention to present a draft of new resolution entitled “Nature knows no boundaries: transboundary cooperation - key factor in preservation and sustainable use of biodiversity” during the 75th session of UN General Assembly in 2021.  All the keynote speakers and the side-event’s participants underlined the main role of Kyrgyzstan in cooperation development between Member States and UN institutions in the issues of sustainable mountain development. Particularly they mention the Kyrgyz party’s initiative on the establishment of informal Group of Friends of Mountainous Countries which, according to the keynote speakers’ statements, has become one of the main discussion platforms on topical issues of cooperation. Simultaneously the representatives of UN institutions and regional organizations expressed their readiness for further cooperation with the Group, and Kyrgyzstan particularly.

During the same day the Permanent Representative of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN Mirgul Moldoisaeva took part in the analogue event arranged by FAO Headquarters in Rome and made the statement on development of cooperation between Member States and the relevant UN institutions in framework of the established Group of Friends of Mountainous Countries.