The second meeting of the board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea was held in Astana under the chairmanship of Kazakhstan. This was reported by the Kazinform agency.
The event, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev, was attended by the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, Advisor to the President of Uzbekistan Shukhrat Ganiev, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan Sulaimon Ziezoda, Minister of Agriculture Turkmenistan Charyyar Chetiev.
Deputy Director of the Water Resources Service of the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic Abdybai Dzhailoobaev was present as an observer.
“Today the international community expects from us not only declarations, but also concrete decisions. The fate of the Aral Sea, rational and equitable use of transboundary waters, conservation of natural resources – these are issues that go far beyond the region. This is part of the global environmental agenda related to sustainable development, food and energy security, and the quality of life of tens of millions of people. At the recent UN General Assembly, our leaders emphasized the importance of building trust, solidarity and collective action to protect the environment environment. Kazakhstan fully shares this position,” Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said in his speech.
The parties discussed preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Council of Heads of Founding States of IFAS, which will be held in April next year, as well as the progress in implementing the Work Plan of the IFAS Executive Committee for the period of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in 2024-2026. In addition, the meeting participants discussed the implementation of the Action Program to assist the countries of the Aral Sea basin, the implementation of the Regional Environmental Protection Program for sustainable development in Central Asia, as well as the activities of the Working Group to improve the organizational structure and legal framework of IFAS.
42 environmental projects are being implemented in the Aral Sea basin. The possibility of launching two regional grant projects with the support of the World Bank is being explored.
During the meeting, participants also took into account the proposal of the IFAS Executive Committee to declare March 26 as the International Day of the Aral Sea, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers.
Following the discussions, a ceremony was held to sign the decisions of the board meeting IFAS.