ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, April 22. Turkmenistan has proposed developing a new UN General Assembly resolution on cooperation with the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), President Serdar Berdimuhamedov said at a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of IFAS founding countries, Trend reports.
Berdimuhamedov emphasized that the summit is taking place in challenging geopolitical conditions and called for ensuring that key regional issues are not relegated to the background.
“The saving of the Aral Sea, its future, and the fate of people living in the region are a political and moral responsibility of our countries,” he said.
The Turkmen president recalled that during Turkmenistan’s chairmanship in IFAS in 2017–2019, Ashgabat focused on advancing practical initiatives. In particular, UN resolutions on cooperation with IFAS were adopted in 2018 and 2019 at Turkmenistan’s initiative. In May 2023, a resolution of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) was also adopted to support the establishment of a UN Special Programme for the Aral Sea region.
He also noted ongoing work on the fourth phase of the Aral Sea Basin Program aimed at assisting countries in the region.
Berdimuhamedov announced that a UN Regional Center for Climate Technologies for Central Asia, initiated by Turkmenistan, will soon begin operations in Ashgabat.
According to him, the Aral Sea crisis cannot be addressed in isolation from broader challenges such as desertification, glacier melting, and transboundary water management, stressing that environmental security must be considered alongside social and economic development.
In this context, Turkmenistan proposed jointly developing a new UN General Assembly resolution on IFAS cooperation, taking into account current geopolitical and economic changes.