BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 14. Climate change and the shallowing of the Caspian Sea threaten the region's transport projects, a Kazakhstani expert on international relations, Tahir Nigmanov, told Trend in an exclusive interview
Tahir Nigmanov outlined the key challenges for the region's sustainable development, including problems related to water use, the shallowing of the Caspian Sea, and climate change. He noted that these processes are already beginning to hurt infrastructure initiatives, including the development of the Trans-Caspian trade route.
"The problem of the Caspian Sea, its shallowness, is a threat to initiatives to develop the Trans-Caspian trade route. The lower the water level, the further the port can move away from the water, or even if it does not move away, the bottom becomes much higher - fewer ships can dock at ports," he said.
Nigmanov also emphasized the need for cooperation with Central Asian countries to solve water and climate problems.
"For Kazakhstan, one of the main problems is that we do not control the sources of the largest rivers flowing through our territory, and therefore it is important for us to cooperate with Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan on these issues," the expert said.
According to him, regional cooperation organizations such as the ECO, despite their limited status in international politics, play an important role in ensuring sustainable development in the region. He noted that regular meetings and discussions of environmental issues are already becoming a guarantee of socio-economic and political stability shortly.