Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 23
By Huseyn Hasanov – Trend:
The summit of the heads of the states-founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) is expected to be held in Turkmenistan in 2018, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said.
Berdimuhamedov made the remarks at the International High-level Conference on International Decade for Action ‘Water for Sustainable Development’ in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary (TDH) state news agency reported.
“The concrete decisions vital for the improvement of the IFAS activity are expected to be adopted following the summit,” the president added. “Presently, Turkmenistan chairs IFAS.”
A concept including the adoption of a new program of action to assist the countries of the Aral Sea basin, the implementation of a regional action plan for environmental protection as a unified environmental program of the Central Asian countries was developed.
It is obvious that the preservation of the Aral Sea can not be seen as an internal, regional problem. The world community needs support to successfully solve it today.
The Aral problem affected northern Turkmenistan. Dashoguz region was exposed to the negative impact of an ecological catastrophe. At the end of May 2018, salt storm from the Aral covered Turkmenistan and even reached the capital of the country - Ashgabat.
IFAS, created in the 1990s, is aimed at financing joint projects and programs to save the Aral Sea and improve the environmental situation in the Aral Sea area.