Tokayev Meets Qatar and Israeli Presidents, Urges Caspian Seal Protection

On 15 October in Baku, Azerbaijan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Talks with Qatar focused on joint investment and energy projects, while talks with Israel covered expanding trade, economic and investment ties. The official statement gave no specific new agreements or investment volumes.

At the COP17 biodiversity leaders summit in Yerevan, Armenia, on 16 October, Tokayev said high ecological culture was enshrined in the Constitution for the first time. He said the Caspian seal population had fallen from 1 million to 270,000 over a century and urged the five Caspian states and the international community to step up joint measures.

Tokayev cited saiga numbers rising from 21,000 in 2003 to 4.7 million in spring 2026, and a snow leopard population of about 190. A tiger was released into the wild in July 2026, the first in seventy years.