Talking dialogue, trade and climate action at the Astana Forum
Titled 'Connecting Minds, Shaping the Future,' the Astana International Forum (AIF) gathered over 160 international speakers and around 7,000 participants.
The event kicked off with a plenary session, where heads of state and high-ranking officials expressed worry over the state the world is in today.
President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, highlighted growing polarisation and increased confrontation between states. According to him, conflicts are brewing in 52 states, while their economic toll amounts to $19 trillion (€16 trillion), or 13.5% of global GDP.
Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, underlined that global challenges are interconnected and require integrated solutions. Vulnerabilities only get worse when external alignment occurs without internal stability.
Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, President of North Macedonia, spoke about the need for reforms in the United Nations. The organisation's bylaws were written 80 years ago and did not envisage the technology and complexity of the world in 2025.
Ban Ki-moon, serving as the President and Chair of the Global Green Growth Institute, noted that climate change and deterioration of the environment can only be solved collectively, while Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Qu Dongyu highlighted that food is a basic human right and peace is a prerequisite for food security.
The plenary session was followed by around 40 panels, side events and one-on-one sessions covering trade, transportation, green energy, carbon neutrality, climate action, economy, finance, development of AI and more.
First and foremost, the Astana International Forum is a platform for connections and networking, including for business. As part of the forum, companies from France and Italy met with Kazakh businessmen and signed several agreements.
France signed 15 agreements with Kazakhstan, key among them being a €90 million (€78 million) project for the construction of a hydrogen production plant, which will help decrease carbon emissions.
Italy and Kazakhstan signed 10 memorandums for a total of €180 million (€157 million). The projects cover logistics, mechanical engineering, agricultural processing, industrial digitalisation and green energy.
Negative effects of trade were also discussed at one the of the panels, where speakers considered how trade is weaponised today to serve egotistic goals.
If in the 2010s global powers were promoting free trade, the wind has changed in the last decade. Experts share that trade is an effective weapon, especially in short term, but what matters is the goal behind it.
Central Asia's role as a transit hub between China and Europe is undeniable today. The role of the Middle Corridor in this regard and its future development were also discussed during AIF.
'The turnover grew by 62 percent in 2024 and reached 4.5 million tonnes of cargo. The aim is to reach 10 million tonnes in 2027. About $15 billion (€13 billion) have already been invested in the development of infrastructure and transportation time sharply reduced to almost 14-18 days,' noted Director of Kazakhstan's Institute for Strategic Studies, Yerkin Tukumov.
'The Middle Corridor will not solve all the problems because it is and will remain very expensive for certain goods to go over land. But it can be a medium-term solution, one of the alternatives,' countered Jurgen Rigterink, First Vice President of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Kazakhstan also announced a new transport initiative called Kazakhstan at the Crossroads of the Continents. Considering that almost 80% of goods from Asia to Europe travel through Kazakhstan, the country is trying to ease the process by consolidating all transportation related services and companies in one platform.
While the temperatures in the rest of the world are projected to grow by 3.7°C by the 2090s, temperatures in Central Asia will rise by 5.8°C, almost twice as much. This will jeopardise a variety of sectors, including water security, food security, economic stability, employment rates and migration.
'Climate change is not a standalone problem. It rather multiplies the threats and the problems in many different sectors,' highlighted Zulfiya Suleimenova, Advisor to the President of Kazakhstan.
'Climate change is a huge problem in Central Asia and we cannot really be speaking about sustainable economic development in our region without addressing climate related challenges.'
For the region to effectively combat the problem it requires robust funding, but so far has only attracted less than 1% of global climate financing.
One of the sessions at the forum directed attention to general accessibility and affordability of climate financing. The session was also able to bring together Central Asian ministries of economy and ecology to discuss acceleration of climate action.
In the context of growing climate concerns, the importance of transition to green energy and diminishing of carbon emissions is underscored. Kazakhstan has set itself an ambitious goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2060. So far, emissions reduced by only 6%.
To help the matter, the UAE-based company Masdar has pledged $1 billion (€880 million) for the development of renewable energy in Kazakhstan.
At one of the panels, speakers highlighted Kazakhstan's potential in renewable energy, especially wind energy. The vast steppes can potentially generate 1 billion kW hours per year, which is eight times the need of the country, leaving the rest for export.
Experts also noted that development of renewable energy infrastructure has driven the demand for rare earth elements, which have become the 'new gold.' In that sense, Central Asia has an advantage of rare earths reserves. Kazakhstan alone has 19 out of 34 rare earth metals.
No discussion on Friday happened without mentioning the benefits and threats of artificial intelligence. The forum participants deliberated on AI regulation in terms of ethical and safe use.
'Soon AI will know more about you than you know yourself. Are you ready for such information to be shared without your permission? Even with government agencies, let alone publicly. I think we need to prepare for a new era of AI, look at it positively, but prepare legislatively, organisationally, and personnel-wise,' noted Yerkin Tukumov, Director of Kazakhstan's Institute for Strategic Studies.
At the same time, Kazakh Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiyev noted that Kazakhstan is already preparing a law that will regulate AI use to prevent its abuse.
'The idea is not to overregulate, but to consider some of the ethical standards,' Madiyev said, noting that the law is under consideration by the parliament at the moment.
Over two days, the Astana International Forum pulsed with dialogue, exchange, and collaboration. From parallel sessions to high-level networking, participants sought common ground and fresh solutions, leaving with a shared commitment to shaping a more stable, sustainable future.
The Pentagon's watchdog is looking into whether any of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's aides were asked to delete Signal messages that may have contained sensitive military information that was shared with a reporter, according to two people familiar with the probe and documents reviewed by The Associated Press (AP).
The Inspector General of the Defence Department's request focuses on how information about the 15 March US air strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen came to be shared on the messaging app.
Besides finding out whether anyone was asked to delete Signal messages, the inspector general is also asking some past and current staffers who were with Hegseth on the day of the strikes who posted the information and who had access to his phone.
Democratic lawmakers and a small number of Republicans have said that the information Hegseth posted to the Signal chats before the military jets had reached their targets could have put the pilots' lives at risk and that for any lower-ranking members of the military it would have led to their firing.
Hegseth has said none of the information shared was classified.
But current and former military officials have said there is no way details with that specificity, especially before a strike took place, would have been cleared to share on an unsecured device.
"I said repeatedly, nobody is texting war plans," Hegseth told Fox News in April after reporting emerged about the chat that included his family members.
"I look at war plans every day. What was shared over Signal then and now, however you characterise it, was informal, unclassified coordinations, for media coordinations and other things. That's what I've said from the beginning."
News of the imminent probe comes as Hegseth is scheduled to testify before Congress next week for the first time since his confirmation hearing.
He is likely to face questions under oath not only about his handling of sensitive information but also the wider turmoil at the Pentagon following the departures of several senior aides and an internal investigation over information leaks.
Hegseth has already has faced questions over the installation of an unsecured internet line in his office that bypassed Pentagon security protocols and revelations that he shared details about US military strikes in multiple Signal chats.
One of the chats included his wife and brother, while the other included President Donald Trump's top national security officials and, inadvertently, The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg.
Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson made no comment on Friday, citing the pending investigation.
The inspector general's office didn't immediately respond to a request from the AP for comment.
US President Donald Trump has made clear that Hegseth continues to have his support, saying during a Memorial Day speech at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia that the defence secretary "went through a lot" but "he's doing really well."
Hegseth has limited his public engagements with the press since the Signal controversy. He has yet to hold a Pentagon press briefing and his spokesperson has briefed reporters there only once.
The inspector general is investigating Hegseth at the request of the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi and the committee's top Democrat, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
Signal is a publicly available app that provides encrypted communications, but it can be hacked and is not approved for carrying classified information.
On 14 March, one day before the US strikes in Yemen, the Defence Department cautioned personnel about the app's vulnerability.
Trump has said his administration targeted the Houthis over their "unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence and terrorism."
He noted the disruption Houthi attacks caused through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, key waterways for energy and cargo shipments between Asia and Europe through Egypt's Suez Canal.
The Houthis attacked more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, between November 2023 until January this year.
Their leadership described the attacks as aimed at ending the Israeli war against Hamas in Gaza.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
a day ago
- LeMonde
In Gaza, the humanitarian deal between the EU and Israel collapses
Overnight from Sunday, July 20, to Monday, July 21, a World Health Organization (WHO) warehouse in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza, was targeted by an Israeli airstrike. The facility burned and its roof collapsed. On Monday afternoon, the building housing the medical agency's staff was also struck by an Israeli projectile. The team was forced to evacuate the area. By Tuesday, one of its members was still being detained by Israeli forces. Deir al-Balah, home to teams from numerous NGOs and United Nations agencies, is Gaza's humanitarian hub – the main center for aid operations to the population. Its targeting marks a new red line crossed by Israel. Until now, the area had been spared by Israel's offensive. On Tuesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned "the horror show in Gaza, with a level of death and destruction without parallel in recent times. Malnourishment is soaring. Starvation is knocking on every door." On July 10, Kaja Kallas, the European Union's head of foreign policy, announced that an agreement had been reached with Israel to allow large-scale delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Two weeks later, this arrangement – struck in exchange for the 27 member states refraining from imposing sanctions on Israel – already appears to have been disregarded.
France 24
2 days ago
- France 24
ICJ to hand down watershed climate opinion
It is the biggest case ever heard at the International Court of Justice and experts say judges' opinion could reshape climate justice forever, with major impacts on laws around the world. The ICJ advisory opinion is "potentially one of the most consequential legal rulings of our times," said Joie Chowdhury, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, an advocacy group that backs the case. It could "define a new era, where climate justice is not a distant aspiration, but a global mandate for the here and now," added Chowdhury. The United Nations has tasked the 15 ICJ judges to answer two fundamental questions that, according to Chowdhury, "strike at the heart of climate justice." First: what must states do under international law to protect the environment from greenhouse gas emissions "for present and future generations"? Second: what are the consequences for states whose emissions have caused environmental harm, especially to vulnerable low-lying island states? To help answer these questions, ICJ judges have pored over tens of thousands of pages of submissions from countries and organisations around the world. Analysts say Wednesday's ruling is the most consequential of a string of recent rulings on climate change in international law. Courts have become a battleground for climate action as frustration has grown over sluggish progress toward curbing planet-warming pollution from fossil fuels. The Paris Agreement struck through the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has rallied a global response to the crisis, but not at the speed necessary to protect the world from dangerous overheating. 'Disappear beneath the waves' In December, the iconic Peace Palace in the Hague hosted the court's biggest-ever hearings, with more than 100 nations and groups giving oral statements. In what was billed a "David Vs Goliath" battle, the debate pitted major wealthy economies against smaller, less developed states most at the mercy of a warming planet. Major polluters including the US and India warned the ICJ not to deliver a fresh legal blueprint for climate change, arguing the existing UNFCCC sufficed. The US, which has since withdrawn from the Paris accord, said the UNFCCC contained legal provisions on climate change and urged the court to uphold this regime. But smaller states said this framework was inadequate to mitigate climate change's devastating effects and that the ICJ's opinion should be broader. These states also urged the ICJ to impose reparations on historic polluters. "The cardinal principle is crystal clear. Responsible states are required to make full reparation for the injury they have caused," said Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh representing Vanuatu. These states demanded a commitment and timeline to phasing out fossil fuels, monetary compensation when appropriate, and an acknowledgement of past wrongs. Representatives from island states, many wearing traditional dress as they addressed the court for the first time in their country's history, made passionate pleas to the robed judges. "Despite producing less than 0.01 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, on the current trajectory of GHG emissions, Tuvalu will disappear completely beneath the waves that have been lapping our shores for millennia," said Eselealofa Apinelu from Tuvalu. The ICJ's advisory opinions are not binding upon states and critics say that top polluters will simply ignore what comes out of the court. But others note the moral and legal clout enjoyed by the world's highest court and hope the opinion will make a tangible difference to national climate change policies. "The impacts of climate change, absolutely dire right now, will become catastrophic as the years go by, if we do not course-correct," said Vishal Prasad, director of a campaign by Pacific Island students that pushed the issue before the court. "The urgency of the matter, the seriousness of why we're here, and how important this is, is not lost upon all Pacific Islanders, all small island countries. "That's why we're looking to the ICJ."
AFP
3 days ago
- AFP
Italy is still a signatory of the Paris Agreement, as of July 2025
"After the United States, Italy is also withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement," says a July 9, 2025 post shared thousands of times on X. The account, "Update News," portrayed itself as media and shared a photo of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to accompany its claim. On July 18, the account was suspended. Image A screenshot of a post on X taken July 18, 2025 Similar posts circulated widely across social media platforms and in various languages, including French, Dutch, Turkish and Spanish. On his first day back in the White House in January 2025, Trump announced the United States would leave the Paris Agreement, which is managed by the United Nations climate change body and aims to keep global average temperature rise below a critical threshold (archived here). Under the far-right Brothers of Italy party, Meloni's government has repeatedly criticized multi-lateral climate agreements. She said the European Green Deal should be revised and could lead to deindustrialization, while her administration has sought to transform Italy into a "gas hub" for the Mediterranean. But online claims that the country withdrew in July 2025 from its commitment to reduce its emissions are not supported by governmental sources and have not been reported by credible media outlets, AFP found. Like most European Union member states, Italy was in the first batch of signatories of the accord in April 2016, after the treaty's adoption in December 2015 (archived here). The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's ratification page and the United Nations treaty collection page are both publicly available and show Italy as a signatory, as of July 21, 2025 (archived here and here). A search for notifications pertaining to withdrawals from the Paris Agreement yielded results for the United States -- which officially withdrew from the accord January 27 -- but not for Italy. Image Screenshot of a United Nations treaty collection page taken July 18, 2025 "We have not heard anything about Italy withdrawing from the Paris Agreement," Leandro Vigna, data partnerships and outreach manager for the nonprofit Climate Watch, told AFP in a July 16 email. The group, which collects data on countries' progress in their climate targets established for the Paris Agreement, still displays the nation on its platform. Keyword searches of the Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana, a governmental resource that publishes Italian legislation, as well as the Italian government website and the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research did not surface any relevant announcements about a withdrawal of the country from the treaty, either. In 2025, the European Commission -- of which Italy is a member -- reiterated its intent to make the bloc's economy carbon neutral by 2050 and promised to stick with targets set so far, including a 90 percent cut to greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. AFP reached out to an Italian government spokesperson for comment, but no response was forthcoming. Other climate debunks can be found here.
