OREANDA-NEWS. July 20, 2009. The further joint actions of the Central Asian states to implement the decisions of the recent Summit of the states – the founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) were the focus of the roundtable, which was held at the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia (UNRCCA).

The government delegations of five Central Asian states, the representatives of the IFAS Executive Committee, large financial structures and donors and high-ranking officials of the UN agencies, regional and international organisations took part in the forum organized with the assistance and under support of the Government of Turkmenistan.

Greeting the guests Ambassador Miroslav Jenca, Head of the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General highly appreciated the significance of the of the April Summit of the Central Asian states that had confirmed the mutual interest in and readiness for the search for the mutually acceptable solutions to challenges and problems of the region. These include the problems of efficient water resources use and management that should be addressed in compliance with the universally recognized norms of international law and respect to the interests of all parties of the negotiation process.

Focusing on the need to elaborate the uniform action strategy to save the Aral Sea and achieve the environmental security as an essential factor of sustainable development of the region, the wellbeing of the people the participants highly appreciated the position of Turkmenistan that took a comprehensive approach to addressing global challenges and problems of the modern world.

Standing steadfast to the policy of friendliness and constructive cooperation with all parties concerned, in particular the neighbouring countries, Turkmenistan attaches special significance to the dialogue in such a vital field as water and energy problems. In particular, the new initiatives put forward by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov at the Central Asian Summit in Bishkek last year and supported at the forum of the leaders of the states – the founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea this April are aimed at developing this cooperation. A critical step to implement the water and energy initiatives was completion of the first stage of the Turkmen Lake in the Karakum Desert, which will have inestimable significance for the country and the region as well.

Highly appreciating Turkmenistan’s contribution to addressing environmental problems and bettering the environment the forum participants stated that having joined the UN environmental convention the country actively collaborated in the projects on international community on ecology, conservation and restoration of water and natural resources, global climate change, closely cooperated with the neighbouring countries and the authoritative international organisations.

In this regard the Turkmen leader’s initiative to establish a special working group that would draft the complex international legal document aimed at saving the Aral Sea in cooperation with the United Nations and its agencies and other international organisations and deal with water and energy problems acquired topicality nowadays.

The forum participants emphasized that this urgent regional problem of particular concern to world community could be addressed to a larger extent through concerting efforts of the states, which suffered from an adverse impact of the ecological disaster. In this regard the roundtable participants focused on the need for the clearly defined political will of the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to further improve the IFSA organizational structure and legal framework that provided the reliable guarantees of compliance with the decisions adopted.

The participants exchanged views on the ways to expand regional cooperation in the water and energy and agricultural sectors and the opportunities to implement the joint social and economic programmes. In this regard emphasis was put on the need to coordinate the work with exerts, donors and large international organisations operating in the region, which could provide assistance in drafting the 2011-2015 action programme on the assistance to the countries in the Aral Sea basin.

The concept on the improvement of regional cooperation in the water and energy and agricultural sectors was presented during the roundtable. The discussion of this concept would be continued at a special seminar which would be organized by the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy in Central Asia in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in October 2009.

The key provisions under discussion were reflected in the final document, which was adopted upon concluding the forum.