On 18 September 2024, Astana hosted the first meeting of the Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) within the framework of the Kazakhstan’s chairmanship.
According to the Press Service of the Government of Kazakhstan, the event, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev, was attended by Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, Chairman of the Executive Committee of IFAS Askhat Orazbai, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan Sulaimon Ziezoda, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Tangrykuly Atakhalliyev, Adviser to the President of Uzbekistan Shukhrat Ganiev, Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan, Dastan Dyushekeyev.
“We need a long-term mechanism for mutually beneficial use of the water and energy resources of the Aral Sea basin. It is also necessary to ensure coordinated actions on the modes of operation of reservoirs, taking into account energy and irrigation interests in the basins of the Syrdarya and Amudarya rivers. Direct interaction between water workers and power engineers will make it possible to make coordinated decisions under abnormal climatic conditions: floods and droughts,” Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said during his speech.
During the meeting, Kazakhstan proposed a comprehensive Work Plan to improve the organizational structure and legal framework of IFAS. The document consists of 10 directions and more than 40 measures to implement the instructions of the heads of the founding states and the President of IFAS, to improve the organizational structure and the legal framework of the Fund.
The priority area is also the further implementation of two large-scale projects: the Action Program to Assist the Countries of the Aral Sea Basin, within which 35 projects are being implemented in the region, and the Regional Environmental Protection Program for Sustainable Development in Central Asia.
Following the meeting, the participants signed the Decisions of the meeting and approved the Work Plan of the IFAS Executive Committee.
Kazakhstan is committed to addressing the urgent problems in the Aral Sea region. This year, 275 thousand hectares of the dried-up bottom of the Aral Sea will be planted with saxaul. By the end of 2025, this area will amount to 1.1 million hectares.
The International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) was established in 1993 and is one of the key regional bodies in Central Asia. Kazakhstan has assumed the chairmanship of IFAS until 2026.///nCa, 19 September 2024