INFORMATION ON THE ROUND TABLE “CONCEPT OF TURKMENISTAN CHAIRMANSHIP IN IFAS”

A roundtable meeting on discussion the directions of the upcoming Turkmenistan Chairmanship in the International Fund for saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) took place in Ashgabat on 23 August at “Yyldyz” hotel. The round table was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of Turkmenistan, the State Committee for Environmental Protection and Land Resources of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Economy and Development of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Finance of Turkmenistan, as well various ministries and agencies of the Central Asian countries, Regional and International organizations, Embassies accredited in Turkmenistan with a total number of about  80 participants.

The Round Table meeting was opened by Mr. Baijanov Guyzgeldi, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources of Turkmenistan.                           

Welcoming speeches were presented by Ms. Margret Maria Uebber, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany in Turkmenistan, Mr. Joshmurad Sedekov, Deputy Chairman of the State Environmental Protection Committee of the Environment and Land Resources of Turkmenistan, Mr. Shukhrat Talipov, Acting Deputy Chairman of EC IFAS, Mr. Marton Krasznai, UNECE Regional Adviser, and Mr. Volker Frobarth, Regional Director of GIZ “Transboundary Water Management in Central Asia” Programme.        

The head of the Water Use Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of Turkmenistan, Mr. Yanov Pashiev, presented “The Concept of Turkmenistan Chairmanship in IFAS” to the event participants.

Further, participants were introduced with the main directions of the Concept:

 

• Development of a new Programme of Actions to assist countries of the Aral Sea basin - ASBP. Integrated Water Resources Use - G.S. Abayev;
• Regional Environmental Action Plan  (REAP) as a single environmental programme for the Central Asian countries - M. H. Durikov;
• Implementation of socio-economic measures, improvement of institutional and legal mechanisms in the elaboration of a new Program of Action to assist countries of the Aral Sea basin - ASBP - M.H. Akmyradov.

Then the discussion of the “Concept of Turkmenistan Chairmanship in IFAS” was held. Main speakers were: Mr. Sagit Ibatullin, Chairman of the EC IFAS in 2008-2013, Mr. Marton Krasznai, UNECE Regional Adviser, Mr. Shukhrat Talipov, Acting deputy chairman of the EC IFAS, Mr. Normuhamad Sheraliev, Representative of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Bolat Bekniyaz, Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Iskandar Abdullaev, Executive Director of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia.                                  Afterward presentations were made by representatives of regional and international organizations: Volker Frobarth, Director of GIZ “Transboundary Water Management in Central Asia” Programme, Petko Draganov, The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, Vadim Sokolov, Regional Coordinator of the Global Water partnership for Central Asia and the Caucasus, Serdar Jepbarov, Acting manager of the World Bank for Turkmenistan, and others. All the speakers expressed their willingness to support the initiative of Turkmenistan and presented their plans for cooperation development in the framework of IFAS.

All speakers supported the main directions of the Concept and presented their recommendations and proposals for its strengthening.