High-level speakers opened the roundtable discussion, including Amb. Urban Rusnák, Energy Charter Secretary General, Amb. Aurelia Bouchez, Head of the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan, and Mr. Stephen Tull, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Kazakhstan. The Round table was an effective opportunity for all the participants and especially for mayors and experts from Kazakhstan's municipal administrations to interact with high-level officials from European institutions, donors and international financial institutions, including the World Bank, USAID, UNDP, ADB and EBRD.

Mr. Bekbolat Orynbekov, mayor of Taraz, officially signed the Covenant of Mayors at the closing session of the roundtable. Further, Amb. Aurelia Bouchez awarded official certificates to the mayors of Taraz, Satpaev, Petropavlovsk and Lisakovsk – cities which have recently joined the Covenant of Mayors. The certificates acknowledge the participating cities' efforts in achieving the ambitious goals of the DACO project and declare the European Union's support for this project.