Uzbekistan offers to involve Afghanistan in regional dialogue on joint use of water resources

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, at the invitation of President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, took part in the next meeting of the Council of the Heads of the Founding States of the International Fund for Saving the Island on September 15.

The head of state analyzed the role and importance of the fund in the 30 years since the establishment of the structure, in the development of coordinated approaches to solving issues of combating environmental threats, implementing joint programs and projects in the Aral Sea basin.

- The International Fund for Saving the Island is, first of all, a unique experience of the Central Asian countries in multilateral cooperation to solve one of the most acute problems on a global scale, the President said.

The leader of Uzbekistan noted that there are important tasks to ensure the effectiveness of multilateral partnership from a legal and institutional point of view, and put forward a number of practical proposals for cooperation in the field of water and ecology.

As part of the further improvement of the fund’s legal foundations and the modernization of its institutional mechanisms, revision and revision of the main documents and agreements, analysis of the current structure, preparation of proposals for coordinating the work of organizations within the fund and increasing its effectiveness, “Rules and Regulations” that clearly regulate its activities and cooperation it was proposed to develop “procedures”.

- It is important to implement the processes of development and reform of the fund on the basis of the intersectoral principle, that is, taking into account modern ecological threats, on the basis of complex approaches in the order of “water – energy – food”, the head of state emphasized.

Stating that the implementation of the fourth program of assistance to the countries of the Aral Sea basin, which is mainly implemented in the direction of national plans, is in a state of concern, the President of Uzbekistan instructed the management of the fund to critically review the current program and, specifying the size of each regional project and sources of financing, “roadmaps” offered to prepare an agreed schedule for their implementation.

It was noted that it is necessary to strengthen the systematic cooperation on attracting investment, technology and technical assistance for the promotion of priority regional projects.

In this regard, it was suggested that each of the countries should commit to attract foreign aid to regional projects by setting specific target indicators, and develop mechanisms for attracting and distributing investments and technical assistance based on the coordination of the presiding party.

In addition, it was proposed to hold a special regional conference in order to accelerate the implementation of joint projects, involving foreign partners, leading international institutions and donor organizations.

The head of Uzbekistan noted that it is appropriate to develop long-term plans for the development of the Amudarya and Syrdarya basins with the participation of international consultants in order to coordinate the policy of integrated management of water and energy resources in the region.

- Formation of a culture of economical use of water and other natural resources, special attention should be paid to organizing work with young people at the regional level in support of youth initiatives and start-ups by adopting a special program. We are sure that the Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy will be actively involved in considering these issues, the head of state said.

In order to prevent further deterioration of ecosystems, first of all, focusing on issues of cooperation in the Aral Sea region, the president noted that large-scale work is currently being carried out in Uzbekistan to improve the ecological and social situation in the Aral Sea region.

The partners were invited to strengthen cooperation in this regard, identifying the field of water conservation as one of the priority areas of the fund’s activities. In order to comprehensively consider all these issues, an initiative was put forward to establish a regional platform for regular meetings of the ministers of water resources, energy, ecology and economy.

The President of Uzbekistan also expressed his opinion on the construction of the Kushtepa canal. As noted, a new participant has appeared in the process of water use in the region. In this regard, it was proposed to consider the formation of a joint working group to study all aspects related to the construction of the canal and its impact on the use of Amudarya water, involving research institutes in the countries, as well as to consider the issue of involving Afghanistan's representatives in the regional dialogue on the joint use of water resources.

At the end of the event, the founding countries of the fund signed the following documents:

- Dushanbe statement of the leaders of the founding countries of the International Fund for Saving the Island;
- Decision of the Council of Heads of the International Foundation for Island Rescue on the results of the chairmanship of Tajikistan in the CSTO;
- Decision of the Council of Leaders of the International Foundation for Island Rescue on the election of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as the President of the International Fund for Island Rescue for 2024-2026;
- Decision of the Council of the Heads of the Founding States of the International Fund for Saving the Island on the improvement of the organizational structure and legal framework of the International Fund for Island Rescue.

In 2024-2026, the CSTO chairmanship passed to Kazakhstan.