The sixth meeting of the regional organizations of Central Asia involved in the sustainable development and water resources management in Central Asia with the participation of the representatives of the Executive Committee of IFAS in the countries organized by the Regional Environmental Center of Central Asia and the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea with the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan was held on November 13-14, 2017 in the framework of Turkmenistan's chairmanship of EC IFAS in the conference hall of the “Yyldyz” hotel in Ashgabat.
The meeting gathered representatives from 10 regional organizations and 9 international organizations accredited in Turkmenistan, including representatives of EC IFAS and its departments, SIC ICSD, ICSD Secretariat, SIC, ICWC Secretariat, BWO "Amudarya" and its units, BWO "Syrdarya", Regional Mountain Center of Central Asia, Regional Hydrology Center, Regional Environmental Center of Central Asia.
The purpose of this meeting is to bring together the joint efforts, opportunities and plans of the regional organizations involved in the issues of sustainable development and water management of Central Asia to coordinate interaction and cooperation in promoting regional processes and programs, as well as to discuss the potential and opportunities of each regional organization in the implementation of ASBP-4, REAP and the promotion of the environment process for Central Asia.
Executive Director of CAREC I. Abdullayev made a conceptual vision of the work and interaction of the regional organizations' platform. The platform for interaction and cooperation of regional organizations, created and promoted by CAREC, has become a place of lively and interested discussions.
Within the framework of the Sixth Meeting, a special session was devoted to assessing the implementation of the Concept of Turkmenistan’s Chairmanship in IFAS. The chairman of the Executive Committee of IFAS, G. Baydjanov, made a report. He told about the work done since June 2017, on preparations for the next meeting of the board of IFAS.
The work on promoting the Regional Action Plan for Environmental Protection in Central Asia was reported by the head of the ICSD secretariat B. Mammedov.
It was also told about preparations for the summit of the heads of the IFAS founding states, which is planned to be held in Ashgabat in 2018 and presented in his speech preliminary drafts of the Central Asian Water Strategy and the UN Special Program for the Aral Sea.
Representatives of the countries and regional organizations expressed their views on the submitted projects in discussions, discussed issues of regional cooperation, opportunities for its further development and participation in the implementation of joint projects and programs for sustainable development of the region. International organizations noted about those programs that will contribute to the implementation of the concept of Turkmenistan's chairmanship in EC IFAS in their speeches.
The meeting was held in a climate of lively exchange of opinions and discussions.
