Turkic leaders adopt joint declaration at COP17 summit in Yerevan

The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity has opened in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Before the event, which runs from 19 to 30 October, a “Leaders for Nature” summit was held on 16 October with heads of state and government. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov attended. Türkiye was represented by a delegation led by Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı. Azerbaijan did not send a delegation.

Leaders discussed biodiversity protection, water resources and expanded ecological cooperation. The summit adopted the “Yerevan Declaration – Action for Nature”, committing to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and to live in harmony with nature by 2050. Tokayev proposed an international fund to protect rare species and biodiversity, and the opening of a regional office of the Convention Secretariat in Almaty.

Japarov, on his first official visit to Armenia, signed a memorandum on protecting Lake Goycha and Issyk-Kul. Berdimuhamedov stressed that the interests of developing countries, especially landlocked states, must be considered.