Special Representative of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic for Mountain Development, Dinara Kemelova, visited South Korea to promote Kyrgyzstan's initiatives in the field of sustainable development of mountain regions, combating climate change, and strengthening international cooperation within the global agenda on mountain issues.
During the visit, productive consultations were held with Park Jong-ho, Executive Director of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFOCO), as well as with Kim Sang-hyup, head of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), and representatives of the Green Climate Fund, discussing projects for the development of mountain areas in Kyrgyzstan that will be implemented under the Five-Year Action Plan for the Development of Mountain Regions for 2023-2027.
Dinara Kemelova also held meetings with Kyun Jong-ho, Ambassador and Deputy Minister for Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, and Nam Song-hee, Director-General of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Korea Forest Service.
Kemelova noted that Kyrgyzstan has made significant progress in the issues of the interconnection of mountains and climate on the international stage, including holding a dialogue on these issues within the UN Climate Change Conference in 2026. Ideas were presented for the establishment of a Global Center for the Sustainability of Mountain Regions in Bishkek, as well as a proposal to establish a Global Program for the Development of Mountain Countries, with a request for the Republic of Korea to consider participating in this initiative.
The discussion also covered the implementation of joint projects aimed at restoring forest ecosystems, combating natural disasters in mountain regions, addressing land degradation, climate change, developing branding for mountain products, and strengthening the institutional capacity of mountain states.
Additionally, Dinara Kemelova participated in a roundtable on "Promoting Global and Regional Mountain Dialogue: Towards the Second Global Mountain Summit 'Bishkek+25'," which was organized jointly with the Secretariat of the Central Asia-Korea Cooperation Forum. This event included representatives from government agencies and businesses in the Republic of Korea, as well as international organizations, including AFOCO, GGGI, and UNESCO. Furthermore, the mountain agenda was presented at the Center for Eurasian and Central Asian Studies at Seoul National University.
