On the occasion of the International Mountain Day, celebrated every year on 11 December, the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United Nations has organized a commemorative event in collaboration with the Group of Friends of Mountainous Countries, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The virtual day has focused on the role of cross-border cooperation for the preservation and restoration of biodiversity in mountain areas, as well as sustainable development and the fight against COVID-19.

The coordinator of the Pyrenean Observatory for Climate Change, Eva García Balaguer, has participated in the debate on this day together with representatives of the Alpine Convention, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the forestry division of the FAO and Columbia University.

The debate has addressed issues such as the role of regional integration in developing recommendations for the problems faced by the mountain ecosystems, the experience of states in analysing the ecological situation or the mechanisms and obstacles of states in implementing plans for the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases (arising from a jump between species) such as COVID-19.

The Group of Friends of Mountainous Countries

Afghanistan, Andorra, Austria, Nepal, Switzerland and Tajikistan will participate in the session on the 11th as representatives of the Group of Friends of the Mountainous Countries. Andorra's representative to the United Nations, Elisenda Vives, has spoken on behalf of the Pyrenean country.

The members of the Group of Friends of Mountainous Countries are Afghanistan, Andorra, Austria, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Canada, Georgia, Greece, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Morocco, Nepal, Norway, Romania, Tajikistan, Turkey and Switzerland.