In Astana, under the chairmanship of Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev, a meeting of the Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) took place.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan Sulaimon Ziyezoda, Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan Tangryguly Atakhallyev, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shukhrat Ganiev, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, and Chairman of the IFAS Executive Committee Askhat Orazbay.

The Kyrgyz Republic participated as an observer. The delegation was headed by Deputy Minister – Director of the Water Resources Service Almaz Jeenaliyev.

Today’s meeting is of particular importance. It is being held during the final period of the Republic of Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in IFAS and is in fact a key stage in the preparation for the meeting of the Council of Heads of State – founders of the Fund.

“Thanks to the joint efforts of our countries and the political will of the heads of state, we have managed to maintain a sustainable system of interaction on the management of transboundary water resources and the promotion of regional initiatives aimed at improving the situation in the Aral Sea basin. Over the past period, we have ensured the consistent work of the Fund, maintained constructive dialogue, and advanced a number of important initiatives. I am confident that today’s discussion will allow us to reach agreed approaches on key issues that will later be submitted for consideration by the Heads of State,” Kanat Bozumbayev said while opening the event.

Following the negotiations, five joint decisions were signed. Decisions were adopted on the preparation for the upcoming meeting of the Council of Heads of State – founders of the Fund, which will be held on April 22, 2026 in Astana, on the results of the work of the IFAS Executive Committee for the reporting period, and on improving the organizational structure and legal framework of the Fund.

A document regulating the coordination of activities between the IFAS Executive Committee and international development partners in the implementation of joint programs was approved, as well as the agenda for the next meeting of the Fund’s Board.

In addition, the following issues were considered and taken into account: the development of a draft Work Plan for the implementation of a unified automated system for accounting, monitoring, management, and distribution of water resources in the Syr Darya River basin, as well as the declaration of 2026–2036 as the “Decade of Practical Actions for Rational Water Use in Central Asia.”

It should be recalled that Kazakhstan is implementing comprehensive measures to preserve the North Aral Sea. In particular, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, together with the World Bank, has developed the second phase of the project to save the North Aral Sea. The project provides for the reconstruction of the Kokaral Dam to raise the sea level to 44 meters according to the Baltic system. As a result, it is planned to increase the surface area of the water body to 3,913 km² and the water volume to 34 billion m³.

The Ministry is also developing more than 160 design and estimate documentations for the modernization and automation of irrigation systems in the Aral-Syr Darya basin in Turkestan and Kyzylorda regions. This will ensure more efficient use of water and direct the saved volumes to the North Aral Sea.

It should be noted that due to the coordination of reservoir operations on the Syr Darya River and strict compliance with interstate agreements, over the past three years the inflow of water into the North Aral Sea has amounted to more than 6 billion m³. As a result, the volume of the North Aral Sea has increased from 18.9 billion m³ at the end of 2022 to 23 billion m³ at the end of 2025.

#Ecology #Kanat Bozumbayev

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