Astana, Kazakhstan - 22 April 2026 – The Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS), in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of the Republic of Türkiye and the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), co-hosted a high-level side event at the Regional Ecological Summit, advancing dialogue on climate action, land restoration, biodiversity, and food security.
Bringing together senior government officials, international organizations, and experts, the event highlighted the growing pressure of climate and environmental challenges on agriculture, particularly in Central Asia, and called for integrated solutions linking climate action, sustainable land management, and ecosystem conservation.
Participants stressed the urgency of strengthening synergies across the Rio Conventions, including climate, land, and biodiversity, positioning land restoration as a key cross-cutting solution to enhance resilience, protect ecosystems, and sustain food systems.
High-level speakers included beside Ambassador Berik Aryn, IOFS Director General, Mr. Hasan Suver, the Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and Chief Advisor to the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Mr. Nurken Sharbiev, Vice-Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr. Munkhtamir Batbayar, Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate change of Mongolia, Mr. Kubanychbek Omuraliev, OTS Secretary General, and Ms. Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The dialogue underscored 2026 as a pivotal year for global environmental governance, with key milestones including UNFCCC COP31 (Antalya), UNCCD COP17 (Ulaanbaatar), and CBD COP17 (Yerevan) that all held within the vicinity of Central Asia. In this context, Türkiye’s hosting of COP31 in Antalya is expected to serve as a decisive platform for delivering an “implementation COP” focused on tangible results.
The meeting concluded with a strong call to scale up practical, technology-driven solutions, strengthen cooperation, and advance coordinated, multi-stakeholder action. Participants endorsed a forward-looking roadmap to accelerate agricultural resilience and operationalize Rio Conventions synergies.
On the margins, the IOFS Director General the Director General held bilateral discussions with Mr. Hasan Suver and Mr. Munkhtamir Batbayar which focused on strengthening the food security–environment nexus, as well as potential IOFS active participation at respectively COP31 and COP17.
The IOFS–Türkiye partnership is set to intensify through joint initiatives and high-level engagement at upcoming global platforms, with COP31 positioned as a catalyst for advancing integrated climate, land, and biodiversity action.
