Highlights and images for 28 March 2026

“Mountains connect landscapes, peoples and nations. They remind us that what happens upstream is felt downstream, and that resilience must be built together” – with these words, Imma Tor Faus, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andorra, closed the Seventh Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership. On its final day, the Steering Committee elected its new members and held its first meeting. Delegates endorsed the Andorra Declaration which will guide work over the coming four-year period.

In the morning, Members of the Mountain Partnership elected the Steering Committee, selecting one government and one major group representative and in some cases alternates per each region. In its first meeting, the Steering Committee elected Italy as Chair, and Kyrgyzstan as First Vice Chair. The Second Vice Chair will alternate between Albertine Rift Conservation Society, Karnali Integrated Rural Development and Research Centre, the Coalition pour le Montagne, and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.

Noëlia Souque, Ambassador for Cross-border Cooperation, Andorra, presented the main meeting outcome ­– the Andorra Declaration – under the theme “Mountains for the Future: Responsible Tourism, Thriving Communities.” She highlighted that the declaration reaffirms the high vulnerability of mountain peoples and ecosystems while underscoring mountains’ critical importance for people, livelihoods, and the planet.

Through the declaration, Members commit, among others, to:

• increase collaboration with key partners, initiatives and countries facing similar challenges in fragile and vulnerable ecosystems;
• promote sustainable, climate-resilient and low-impact tourism;
• enhance capabilities and capacity-building for observing and monitoring social-ecological changes and challenges in mountains; and
• empower Indigenous Peoples and local communities, women, youth, pastoralists, persons with disabilities, migrants and internally displaced persons in mountain communities, through inclusive decision-making, fair representation and the recognition of traditional knowledge.

In his closing remarks, Zhimin Wu, Assistant Director-General and Director, Forestry Division, FAO, praised the “inspiring, constructive, and meaningful” discussions, and the dynamic group of dedicated and passionate people committed to the future of the Partnership. He underscored the importance of the Andorra Declaration on informing and guiding forthcoming global processes, including the upcoming Bishkek+25 Global Mountain Summit (October 2027).

In closing the meeting, Imma Tor Faus, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andorra, thanked the 150 Partnership Members, partners, and champions, representing 24 governments, 14 intergovernmental institutions, and numerous organizations from over 40 countries, for attending the meeting at the hearth of the Pyrenees. Reflecting on the discussions from the past days, she reiterated the importance of the Mountain Partnership for raising the profile of mountain regions across governance and decision-making processes to strengthen support for mountain communities in practical, sustained and inclusive ways.

The meeting closed at 11:38 AM.