Astana, November 7. Kazakhstan will support Tajikistan’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2028–2029, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at a briefing after talks with President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, the Akorda reported.
Tokayev confirmed the two countries’ shared positions on the regional and global agenda and their readiness to promote common interests at multilateral venues; he called Tajikistan’s nomination positive. According to him, the talks gave separate attention to stability and security in Central Asia: the sides agreed that the region’s sustainable development meets the fundamental interests of all “fraternal peoples.”
Tajikistan announced its candidacy recently. Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin said on September 26, at the general debate of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, that the country is running for the Security Council for the first time in its history, TASS reported. Among the priorities if elected he named strengthening peace, water issues, the fight against terrorism and international cooperation on artificial intelligence, Gazeta.uz writes. The minister pointed to the long border with Afghanistan: the country, he said, understands from its own experience the importance of preventing conflicts. Tajikistan itself also lived through a civil conflict and settled it through dialogue and compromise, CentralAsia notes.
The Security Council has 15 members: five permanent (the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France) with veto power and ten non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two years. The vote for seats that take effect on January 1, 2028 will be held in 2027; elections are usually held in June of the year before a term begins. Kazakhstan itself sat on the Security Council as a non-permanent member in 2017–2018.
What it means: Tokayev publicly sided with his neighbour a year before the vote. Support does not guarantee election: seats are distributed by regional group, and the General Assembly makes the decision by voting. For a first-time candidate, a regional neighbour’s statement is one of the first public bids for votes.
Who benefits: Tajikistan, which gets the backing of a country that has already sat on the Security Council and knows its procedures. For Kazakhstan, the statement confirms the allied relations the sides formalised the same day.
Background: Tajikistan’s nomination is the first in its history. Non-permanent membership lasts two years; seats rotate among regional groups.
We have also reported on the meeting of Kazakhstan’s and Tajikistan’s energy ministers.
