Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan, 18 September 2024 — The capital of Kazakhstan hosted a meeting of the Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbaev.
This was the first meeting of the Board since Kazakhstan assumed the Chairmanship of IFAS in January 2024, which will continue until the end of 2026.
Meeting of the Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). Photocredit to EC IFAS in Kazakhstan.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan Sultan Ziyozoda, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Toily Atahallyev, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shukhrat Ganiev, Minister of Water Management of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Khamraev, Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Republic of Kazakhstan Damira Dyushekeeva, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, Chairman of the Executive Committee of IFAS Abdulaziz Orazbay, as well as representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, energy, and water resources of the IFAS founding states.
IMeeting of the Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). Photocredit to EC IFAS in Kazakhstan.
The participants discussed current issues related to the Fund’s activities, including ways to further improve its organizational structure and legal framework, and explored prospects for enhancing cooperation among the five Central Asian countries within the framework of IFAS.
As a result of the meeting, the participants adopted a number of relevant decisions and approved the Work Plan of the IFAS Executive Committee proposed by the Kazakh side. The Plan includes 10 key areas and more than 40 activities aimed at implementing the instructions of the Heads of the Founding States and the President of IFAS.
(Material received from EC IFAS in Kazakhstan)
1. On the Work Plan of the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea for the period of the Chairmanship of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2024-2026)
2. On the Progress in the Implementation of the Aral Sea Basin Programme (ASBP-4) and the Regional Environmental Programme for Sustainable Development in Central Asia (REP4SD CA)
3. On the Activities of the Working Group on Improving the Organizational Structure and the Legal and Regulatory Framework of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea
4. On the Outcomes of the Central Asia Hydrometeorological Services Modernization Project (CAHMP)
5. On the Participation of the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea in the “One Water Summit”
6. On the Agenda of the Next Meeting of the Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea