EMOMALI RAHMON, President of Tajikistan, stated that the international community more than ever needs integration and trust to address the threats of terrorism, extremism, transnational organized crime, arms proliferation and climate change.  He admitted that, despite significant progress made on some Sustainable Development Goals, Tajikistan continues to face challenges to meet them by 2030. To accelerate progress, he called for at least $500 billion to developing, least developed and small island developing States annually, also expressing support for the reform of the international financial architecture to ensure stable and long-term financing of necessary initiatives.  Turning to climate change, he pointed out that his country, with 93 per cent of its territory covered by mountains, is considered one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to its impact.  In Tajikistan, frequent climate-related disasters — landslides, mudflows, floods and draughts — result in human and infrastructure loss.

Tajikistan thus attaches particular importance to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, he said, spotlighting that his country is among the pilot ones to implement the Secretary-General’s Early Warnings for All initiative.  With more than 13,000 glaciers, 60 per cent of water resources in Central Asia emanate from Tajikistan.  Nevertheless, more than 1,000 glaciers have melted — this will have significant implications for the food security, water availability and ecosystems of the region and beyond, he warned.  Recalling the Assembly’s resolution on International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, 2025, he also pointed to the successful outcomes of the 2023 United Nations Water Conference.  Further, he announced that Dushanbe will host the third high-level conference on Water Action in 2024 and the International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation in 2025.  Using hydropower, Tajikistan produces 98 per cent of its electricity from renewable resources — ranking sixth in the world in this aspect.

He went on to note that, in Central Asia, conditions are currently conducive to strengthening regional integration.  “Such initiative will contribute to a stable atmosphere of peace, cooperation, sustainable development and prosperity in our region,” he declared, highlighting that this is directly linked to the situation in neighbouring Afghanistan.  As 97 per cent of Afghans live in poverty, he reiterated Tajikistan’s commitment to continue providing humanitarian assistance, appealing to the international community to follow suit.  The establishment of intra-Afghan dialogue and the creation of a truly inclusive Government is crucial for achieving lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan, he underscored.  In the context of increased drug trafficking, Tajikistan’s authorities seized more than 10 tons of narcotics on the border with Afghanistan over the past two years.  Besides tackling this threat, Tajikistan also continues to combat terrorism and violent extremism within the framework of its National Strategy for 2021-2025.

In this regard, the country intends to hold — in cooperation with the international community — the next international conference on countering terrorism and its financing in 2024.  “The efforts should also be focused on preventing the use of the Internet for radicalization, recruitment, and propaganda of extremism and violence,” he stressed, welcoming the adoption of the eighth review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.  On solidarity and mutual understanding, he condemned insults to the religious sanctity of people, manifestations of discrimination, racial hostility as well as politicization of religious issues.  These undermine the very essence of the international community, he lamented.  As a co-sponsor of a General Assembly resolution on promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech, Tajikistan reiterates the importance of promoting dialogue and mutual understanding among civilizations for peace and harmony in the world, he emphasized.