BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 6. Azerbaijan has taken part in discussions of the main directions of joint activities to reduce the negative impacts of the shallowing of the Caspian Sea at a meeting of Caspian littoral states' government officials within the framework of the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries in Awaza, Turkmenistan, the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers told Trend.
Speaking at the meeting, Azerbaijan's Deputy Prime Minister Shahin Mustafayev highlighted the steady growth dynamics of trade turnover among the Caspian littoral states, stating that this creates a solid foundation for deepening cooperation in both bilateral and multilateral formats.
The deputy prime minister noted that the 3rd Caspian Economic Forum, held in Tehran in February this year, was significant in terms of expanding trade and mutual investment volumes, as well as deepening cooperation in the energy and transport-logistics sectors.
Addressing environmental challenges in his speech, he emphasized that the declining water level of the Caspian Sea is causing concern throughout the region.
He pointed out that this issue was first raised by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, at the Ashgabat Summit in 2022, and that preparations are ongoing for organizing the first meeting of a five-party expert group in Baku.
Additionally, the event featured extensive discussions on the socio-economic and environmental aspects of changes occurring in the Caspian Sea ecosystem.
The potential impacts of changes in water level on living conditions in coastal areas and on regional development processes were at the forefront of attention.
Mustafayev underlined that in order to minimize the negative effects of water level changes, it is necessary to expand scientific research cooperation and to implement joint programs for the protection of fisheries, shipping, and biodiversity.
During the meeting, a proposal was made to launch a multilateral cooperation mechanism aimed at developing common standards and approaches for studying the changes taking place in the Caspian Sea.
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