On April 22, during his working visit to the Republic of Kazakhstan, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov took part in the Regional Environmental Summit and in the regular meeting of the Council of Heads of State–Founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea. This was reported by the electronic newspaper “Turkmenistan: Golden Age.”
In his speech at the Regional Environmental Summit, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that today we are all facing serious environmental challenges. The main one is climate change, which has a negative impact on all spheres of life. In this regard, Turkmenistan is putting forward initiatives to establish a Regional Center for Climate Technologies, as well as a Regional Center for Combating Desertification for the countries of Central Asia. The location of these structures in close proximity to the sites of their activity will allow for a more precise and competent response, based on practical experience, to environmental risks and threats, the search for ways to prevent and overcome them, and the development of valuable skills of cooperation with national institutions.
The issue of the rational and fair use of transboundary water resources requires special attention, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov stated, presenting the official position of Turkmenistan.
It was noted that Turkmenistan has put forward an initiative to establish a Regional Council on Water Management in the countries of Central Asia under the auspices of the United Nations, which could become an effective structure coordinating efforts in the water sector. Our country, being also a Caspian region state, actively addresses all environmental issues of the Caspian Sea.
In the second half of the day, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov took part in the regular meeting of the Council of Heads of State–Founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS).
In his speech, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov recalled that during its chairmanship of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea in 2017–2019, Turkmenistan responsibly and purposefully focused on the practical tasks of IFAS, placing special emphasis on concretizing and coordinating cooperation with international structures, primarily specialized UN agencies and institutions.
Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that, following the logic of consolidating international efforts in the regional environmental track, Turkmenistan proposed the establishment of a Regional Center of the United Nations for Climate Change Technologies in Central Asia. It will begin functioning in Ashgabat in the near future.
The Head of State also emphasized that the problems of the Aral Sea cannot be considered in isolation from other pressing environmental challenges for Central Asian countries, such as desertification, glacier melting, and issues of transboundary water resource management, among others. In this regard, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov expressed his deep conviction that environmental security issues must be considered in their integrity and interconnection as part of the broader task of ensuring social and economic well-being in Central Asia, as well as harmony and good-neighborliness as a determining factor of the region’s development and prosperity.
The Head of State proposed accelerating work on improving and modernizing the legal and regulatory framework of IFAS and defining new tasks for future joint activities.
In conclusion, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov congratulated the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, on assuming the chairmanship of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea and wished him success in his future activities.
Following the meeting, a number of documents were signed.
