Turkmenistan hosts the Central Asian International Environmental Forum

On 5th of June, 2017, the three-day Central Asian International Environmental Forum "The Initiative for Cooperation on Environment and Sustainable Development in Central Asia", began its work in the hotel "Yildiz" located in capital city Ashgabat.

Representatives of the Central Asian governments, heads and representatives of international and regional organizations, diplomatic missions working in Turkmenistan, leading experts in the field of environmental protection, representatives of the environmental sector and the media are taking part in the forum.

The main theme of the forum is "Climate change and water cooperation in the context of sustainable development in Central Asia". The main objective is to promote dialogue between government agencies, the international development community, the scientific community, civil society and business structures of the Central Asian countries on environmental issues and the joint formation of a vision for a sustainable development strategy for the region.

At the beginning of the Forum, a welcome message was received from the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to the participants of the Central Asian International Environmental Forum and environmental workers. Then the opening speeches were made by the heads of delegations of the Central Asian countries.

On the first day of the Forum, two plenary sessions were held - high-level segments entitled "Challenges and Opportunities for Environmental Cooperation in Climate Change and Water Resources in Central Asia" and "Harmonization of the Legal Framework of Central Asian Countries in the Field of Water Cooperation and Ecology". These sessions were devoted to the opportunities for cooperation and the role of diplomats and parliamentarians in the issues of climate change and water cooperation in the region.

The second and third days of the forum will be devoted to thematic discussions. On June 7 all parallel sessions will be held and the results of the forum will be summed up. On the same day, the official closing of the forum will be held.