Your Excellencies, partners, dear colleagues and friends,

Thank you for your kind invitation to speak to you today. I am sorry that I cannot join you in Almaty, but am sure from my experience last year that your meeting will again be an excellent occasion to exchange between main international partners, government officials and technical experts.

Unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the risk landscape continues to change profoundly and – despite our best efforts – risks are growing. We experience the disastrous impacts of the climate crisis, including more intense and frequent extreme weather events. We see man-made disasters and conflicts alongside natural disasters. The horrific regularity, intensity and simultaneity of emergencies such as wildfires, floods and earthquakes was unusual just a few years ago. Now, it is all too familiar. In Central Asia, we have experienced this summer again wildfires and the lack of water. And these developments will carry on accelerating. These are huge challenges – and we must rise to them together.

The EU is placing resilience at the centre of policymaking, as also highlighted in our Council Conclusions on Disaster Risk Reduction in EU external action from last year and the Council Conclusions on Climate and Energy Diplomacy from this March.

With the strong emphasis on the resilience of Central Asia in the EU-Central Asia strategy of 2019 and with climate change mitigation and adaptation as important priorities of the EU, this also includes continued support to Central Asia, including through the Team Europe Initiative for Water, Climate Change and Energy.

Implemented together with our partners, our programmes help to strengthen Disaster Risk Reduction systems and build climate resilience in Central Asia and to contribute to the fight against climate change by promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency.

We appreciate the commitment made by Governments of Central Asian countries in enhancing the Disaster Risk Management system to build disaster and climate resilience in the region. This work has seen significant progress, while it is needed to further build on the achievements to consolidate national efforts and the disaster management capacities in Central Asia.

Let me also highlight the positive role of the Center for Emergency Situations and Disaster Risk Reduction (CESDRR) in Almaty, which the EU has strongly supported throughout its establishment and work, and we will continue to support the Centre through the Team Europe Initiative. We appreciate its experience and capacity building, as well as its strong regional coordination. We welcome close contacts on disaster preparedness between the Center and our colleagues from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO).

Dear colleagues, the meeting today and your work to improve sharing of knowledge and good practices, and to further strengthen regional cooperation, is ultimately aimed to save lives. What more emphasis on the importance of our efforts do we need?

I thank you for your attention; I wish you fruitful exchanges and look forward to the outcomes of your meeting.