In Astana on 28 January 2026, UN Women’s Central Asia Liaison Office and the UN Women Country Office in Kazakhstan hosted a roundtable titled “Advancing Partnerships for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Central Asia,” bringing together international partners to strengthen regional coordination and strategic engagement. The event built on the political momentum generated by the Astana High-Level Meeting marking the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action in February 2025 and was co-organized with the Embassy of France in Kazakhstan.
Opening the roundtable, Ms. Elisa Fernandez Saenz, Deputy Regional Director of the UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, highlighted the need to translate political momentum into concrete action by identifying common ground and strengthening partnerships to accelerate progress for women and girls across the region. H.E. Mr. Sylvain Guiaugué, French Ambassador to Kazakhstan, reaffirmed France’s commitment to cooperation and coalition-building through its feminist diplomacy.
Participants reviewed recent progress in Central Asia, including the criminalization of domestic violence in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, strengthened protection mechanisms in Tajikistan, enhanced gender policies in Turkmenistan, and increased women’s political participation in Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. While acknowledging these achievements, they emphasized the need to accelerate implementation through stronger regional coordination, deeper strategic partnerships, and alignment of regional priorities to keep gender equality and women’s rights central to policy development and international cooperation.
The roundtable also underscored the importance of exploring innovative financing mechanisms and expanding long-term, multi-stakeholder partnerships to support transformational and sustainable impact, especially in the context of limited resources. The newly established UN Women Central Asia Liaison Office, launched in December 2025, was recognized as a key platform for aligning national and regional efforts with Beijing+30 commitments. Participants committed to continued collaboration across priority areas, including Women, Peace and Security, women’s economic empowerment, gender-responsive budgeting, and the prevention of gender-based violence, through coordinated regional and country-level actions.
