Meeting of the Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea

Meeting of the Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) was held on October 10 in Astana under Kazakhstan’s chairmanship.

The meeting, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev, brought together Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan Nurzhan Nurzhigitov; Advisor to the President of Uzbekistan Shukhrat Ganiev; Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan Sulaimon Ziyozoda; Minister of Agriculture of Turkmenistan Charyar Chetiev.

Abdybai Djailoobaev, Deputy Director of the Water Resources Service of Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry, attended the meeting as an observer.

Participants reviewed preparations for the upcoming IFAS Council of Heads of Founding States meeting, scheduled for April 2026, and assessed progress under the IFAS Executive Committee Work Plan for Kazakhstan’s 2024–2026 chairmanship. They also discussed implementation of the Aral Sea Basin Program, the Regional Environmental Program for Sustainable Development in Central Asia, and the activity of the Working Group for Institutional and Legal Improvement of the IFAS.

Currently, 42 environmental projects are underway in the Aral Sea basin. Two new regional projects are under consideration with the World Bank.

Participants also took note of the proposal by the IFAS Executive Committee to declare March 26 as the International Day of the Aral Sea and the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers. Following the discussions, a ceremony was held to sign the resolutions of the IFAS Board meeting.

Источник: dknews.kz