The heads and specialists of authoritative international organizations and structures, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Program UNEP, UNESCO, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Health Organization, the European Union, the United Nations and Cooperation in Europe, the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, the World Bank, the World Postal Association, the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC), and representatives of the Guinness World Records attended the press conference.
Speaking at the briefing, UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Elena Panova expressed gratitude to President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov for the active attention to cooperation with the United Nations and underlined the dynamic and fruitful nature of this dialogue.
As emphasized, the ceremony of laying a new village demonstrates the consistent implementation of the tasks on the development of infrastructure in the waters of the Altyn Asyr Lake.
“I already had the opportunity to visit the lake this February. The scales of the work carried out there are impressive, and changes in the fauna and flora around the water area are also noticeable”, said Ms. Panova, expressing her belief that this project would have a positive impact on the ecology of the region.
Along with this, the creation of social and industrial infrastructure near the lake addresses the important issues related to employment, economic development, improving the well-being of local communities.
According to the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan, creation of conditions for the harmonious personal growth will ensure the long-term sustainability of this undoubtedly important initiative put forward by the President of Turkmenistan.
Ms. Panova underlined that the UN supported and would assist Turkmenistan in attracting modern ‘green’ technologies for implementing projects related to environmental protection, rational use of water resources and their secondary use, noting that it would be a significant contribution of Turkmenistan to the implementation of the global Agenda 2030 and the achievement of the goals and objectives of sustainable development.
As is known, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres put forward the initiative to hold the Summit on climate change in September 2019. The progress in implementing the Paris Agreement, the experience of successful projects in the field of low-carbon development, the mitigation and adaptation to climate change consequences at the local level will be discussed during the Summit.
“I hope that Turkmenistan will take part in this Summit and present the programmes, implemented within the framework of the National Strategy on Climate Change”, Ms. Panova said, expressing confidence that the experience of creating the Turkmen Lake could be used in other Central Asian countries that lack water resources.
As was emphasized, this is especially important in the context of the environmental, economic and social issues related to the Aral Sea crisis. It was also noted that this project could be considered as the contribution of Turkmenistan to the implementation of the Action Programme to assist the countries of the Aral Sea basin (ASBP-4), aimed at addressing water management, environmental and socio-economic issues of the Aral Sea basin.
In conclusion, the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan reaffirmed the willingness of the United Nations to provide the necessary support on all issues of sustainable urban and rural development and to cooperate with various stakeholders, including international organizations, financial institutions, civil society and the private sector.
