Aral Sea's shoaling problem important element for Turkmen-Tajik co-op
By Aynur Jafarova
The shoaling problem of the Aral Sea is an important element for cooperation of Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
This was announced by Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov during his official visit to Dushanbe.
Berdymukhamedov noted the Aral Sea problem requires deliberated solutions.
"We believe that the approaches to solve the problem related to saving the Aral Sea should be deliberated and based on the perception of our togetherness and unity in implementing this task," Berdymukhamedov said.
The same principle applies to solving the hydro-economic issues in the region, the president added.
Turkmenistan's position in this issue is that the shoaling problem of the Aral Sea should be solved with active participation of international organizations, on the basis of universally recognized norms of international law and the interests of all states in the region.
Saving the Aral Sea is one of the serious problems and without its solution it is difficult to talk about ensuring sustainable development in Central Asia.
The Aral Sea today is a disaster zone, and the consequences directly affect the lives and health of hundreds of thousands of people, and have an adverse impact on the economic, social and environmental situation in the region.
From the UN General Assembly rostrum, Ashgabat previously called for the creation of a special international group of experts which in collaboration with the UN and its agencies would develop a comprehensive an international legal document on ways of saving the Aral Sea.
Ashgabat offers developing a special UN program to deal with the Aral Sea and to establish a partnership with the UN interregional center on climate change. The Turkmen side has expressed its willingness to provide the necessary infrastructure for this work.
Speaking at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20, held in Brazil in June 2012, President Berdymukhamedov said that the tasks of sustainable development in Central Asia would not be fulfilled without solving the problem of the Aral Sea.