Caspian littoral states gathered in Ashgabat
By Nigar Orujova
Ashgabat has today opened a meeting of the Caspian littoral states to discuss the draft agreement on the prevention of natural and anthropogenic disasters in the Caspian Sea and in the coastal zones, and elimination of consequences, the Turkmen government reported.
The draft agreement on cooperation in this field has been developed by the Turkmen side in accordance with the initiative of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed during the third summit of the Caspian states held in Baku in November 2010.
A draft document was presented to all participating parties.
"The favorable geographical location, rich hydrocarbon, fish and other natural resources and good climatic conditions have contributed to the fact that today the Caspian region has become the fastest growing industrial, transport and resort centre. The establishment of coherent international cooperation for forming an integral and robust system of ecological security of the Caspian Sea acquires special urgency in this regard," the report reads.
The two-day meeting, organized by the Turkmen Foreign Ministry and the State Enterprise for the Caspian Sea under the President, is attended by authorized representatives of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan.
Earlier on April 11-12 , Ashgabat hosted a meeting of the Caspian states representatives dedicated to the discussion of the draft agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources of the Caspian Sea.
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran will also hold talks on the Caspian legal status issue in Iran's capital after April 20 for the determination of the basin's legal status.
The undefined status causes many problems, the most significant of which is increased pollution. Oil production and refining has adversely affected the environmental condition of the sea.
In December, a protocol on the protection of Caspian Sea environment, which is a second such document signed after the adoption of the Tehran Convention, was adopted in Moscow. The protocol aims to ensure the implementation of the convention signed in the Iranian capital in 2003. The protocol aims to prevent, reduce, control and eliminate pollution to the greatest extent and support environmentally friendly Caspian marine environment.
The Framework Convention was the first legally binding regional agreement signed by all the five Caspian littoral states, laying out general requirements and an institutional mechanism for environmental protection in the resource-rich Caspian region.
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed agreements on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea on November 29, 2001 and February 27, 2003.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sectors of the Caspian on May 14, 2003.