The event, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev, was attended by the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) Askhat Orazbay, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan Sulaymon Ziyozoda, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Tanryguly Atahalliyev, Advisor to the President of Uzbekistan Shukhrat Ganiyev, and the Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Kazakhstan Dastan Dyushekeyev.
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 assumed the chairmanship of IFAS until 2026 and held the first board meeting of the Fund on September 18.
IFAS has become a powerful collective tool for regional cooperation, capable of influencing the socio-economic well-being in Central Asia. Through close interaction within IFAS and the political will of the heads of state, the Fund has managed to consolidate the efforts of member countries in addressing the challenges related to the Aral crisis.
The board meeting emphasized the need for a long-term mechanism for the mutually beneficial use of water and energy resources in the Aral Sea basin, coordinated actions on reservoir operation regimes considering the energy and irrigation interests in the Syr Darya and Amu Darya river basins.
Priority areas also include the further implementation of two large-scale projects: the Action Program for Assistance to 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.
On the same day, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov held a meeting with the heads of delegations of the countries participating in the first IFAS Board meeting.
The meeting discussed issues of joint use of transboundary water resources, as well as measures to further address environmental and socio-economic problems in the Aral Sea basin.
The need for further development of a comprehensive and mutually beneficial mechanism for water and energy cooperation in Central Asia, considering the interests of all parties, was noted. In particular, the introduction of the latest digital technologies, the use of satellite remote sensing data, which will strengthen cooperation and ensure significant water savings.
Additionally, to improve the regulation of energy and irrigation processes, work will be intensified on the development and implementation of a unified automated system for accounting, monitoring, management, and distribution of water resources in the Aral Sea basin by the countries of the region. These measures aim to achieve a balance in meeting the needs of countries and preventing electricity shortages in the autumn-winter period and irrigation water shortages in the summer period.
Among the priority tasks is also the completion of the process of improving the organizational structure and legal framework of IFAS. Currently, a working group of experts is conducting the relevant work.
During the meeting, proposals were made by Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan Ziyozoda Sulaymon, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Tanryguly Atahalliyev, and Advisor to the President of Uzbekistan Shukhrat Ganiyev.
