Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Feb. 7
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
The development of the fourth Action Program to assist the countries of the Aral Sea basin has begun, the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported Feb. 7 citing Arslan Rejepov, Turkmenistan’s representative at the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS).
This important document of regional importance serves as a basis for the sustainable development of Central Asia, the intensification of interstate interaction within the framework of the Fund’s activities aimed at improving the conditions and quality of life in the Aral Sea area.
Three similar plans have been implemented since the creation of the Fund. The last plan was completed in 2015.
As the country chairing the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, Turkmenistan coordinates joint actions to improve the water, ecological and socio-economic situation in the Aral Sea basin, says the report.
Turkmenistan chairs the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea in 2017-2019.
The IFAS, established in 1990s in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, aims at financing joint projects and programs to save the Aral Sea and improve the ecological situation there.
The IFAS was granted observer status at the UN General Assembly on Dec. 11, 2008.