QAZAQ GREEN. The Regional Ecological Summit RES-2026 will take place in Astana from 22 to 24 April. One of the key events of the business programme will be the session "Securing Central Asia's Sustainable Energy Future: Clean Energy and Innovation", organised by the Asian Development Bank together with the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan and the Qazaq Green Renewable Energy Sources Association.

The session will be held on 23 April at the Congress Centre (Burabay Hall) and will be divided into two thematic parts. The first will focus on clean energy development, innovative solutions, energy storage systems and the expansion of regional cooperation. The second will address just transition issues, including workforce development, social dialogue and financing mechanisms.

Ministers of energy and representatives of relevant government bodies from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Türkiye are expected to attend, along with experts from the ADB, UNECE, EDF, KEGOC and a number of international organisations.

Among the confirmed speakers are Kazakhstan's Minister of Energy Yerlan Akkenzhenov, Vice Minister of Energy Sungat Yessimkhanov, ADB Director for Energy Transition Pradeep Tharakan, Chairperson of the Management Board the Qazaq Green RES Association Ainur Sospanova, and Chairman and CEO of EDF Electricite de France Bernard Fontana. The first session will be moderated by Director General of the KazEnergy Association Zhandos Nurmaganbetov.

The second session will focus on the social dimensions of the energy transition — workforce reskilling, community engagement and investment mobilisation for social transformation. Participants will include British Ambassador to Kazakhstan Sally Axworthy, Minister of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan Sayasat Nurbek, KazEnergy Executive Director Lyazzat Akhmurzina, UNECE Just Transition Task Force Lead Climate Finance Expert Maxim Titov, and Carbon Economics Managing Director and University of Cambridge Associate Researcher Ilkka Hannula.