BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. Uzbekistan held talks with Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), on the sidelines of the Eighth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), focusing on expanding regional cooperation on climate and environmental protection, Trend reports via the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change.
The meeting brought together Aziz Abdukhakimov, adviser to the President of Uzbekistan and chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, Erlan Nysanbayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan, Bahodur Sheralizoda, head of Tajikistan’s Environmental Protection Committee, as well as representatives from Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.
Discussions centered on strengthening environmental cooperation across Central Asia and deepening engagement with UNEP. Participants noted that environmental and climate issues have gained unprecedented political attention in the region in recent years, highlighted by initiatives such as the Samarkand Climate Forum 2025 and the Regional Environmental Summit in Astana.
A key topic of the talks was air quality improvement and the development of a regional clean air coalition. The sides explored a joint initiative with UNEP to reduce the impact of sand and dust storms on public health and urban environments. Officials said the project could evolve into a comprehensive regional program featuring air quality monitoring systems, data sharing mechanisms, and coordinated efforts to reduce transboundary pollution.
Participants also discussed the creation of a Regional Environmental Atlas of Central Asia. Uzbekistan presented its experience in developing a national environmental atlas in cooperation with UNEP, launched in 2025, as a model for a broader regional platform consolidating environmental data and tracking ecological trends across Central Asia.
The meeting further addressed the region’s positioning under the Montreal Protocol and the strengthening of Central Asia’s institutional representation within the United Nations and UNEP frameworks.
Officials reaffirmed their commitment to expanding cooperation with UNEP to promote sustainable development, environmental resilience, and climate security across Central Asia.
