Leaders of Central Asian countries — Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan — will travel to Astana on April 22 to attend a meeting of the Council of Heads of State, founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, the Kazakh government’s press service said.
The date was announced by Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov during a meeting with members of the fund’s board on Monday in the capital. Participants included Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister Tangryguly Atahallyev, Tajik Deputy Prime Minister Sulaymon Ziyozoda, Uzbek presidential adviser Shukhrat Ganiev, Uzbekistan’s water resources minister Shavkat Khamraev, Kyrgyz Deputy Minister and Director of the Water Resources Service Almaz Zheenaliev, Executive Committee Chairman Askhat Orazbay, as well as heads of relevant Kazakh agencies.
The sides discussed prospects for regional cooperation in water management, ways to improve the fund’s efficiency, and preparations for the upcoming summit. Special attention was given to the digitalization of water accounting, with participants agreeing to introduce a unified automated system for monitoring and allocating water resources in the Syr Darya and Amu Darya basins.
The meeting also addressed improvements to the fund’s organizational structure and legal framework to strengthen coordination among its institutions and ensure more effective implementation of decisions.
The fund brings together Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and implements joint environmental and applied scientific programs aimed at restoring the Aral Sea and improving the region’s ecological situation. Kazakhstan holds the chairmanship of the fund for 2024–2026.
