President Sadyr Japarov made a speech at the V Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia in Dushanbe (Tajikistan). Presidential press service reports.
Sadyr Japarov noted that the consultative meetings create favorable conditions for maintaining regular dialogue at the highest level, and also significantly strengthen mutual trust between the states.
«I am confident that our joint work, constant dialogue and communication on the basis of mutual respect, consideration of each other’s interests, in the spirit of good neighborliness, will allow us to overcome all obstacles and difficulties, develop and maintain a sense of common interests and unity of the peoples who have inhabited our vast and rich region,» he said and outlined priority areas of cooperation in Central Asia for Kyrgyzstan:
- Expansion and deepening of trade and economic ties;
- Water energy sector;
- Diversification and expansion of transport corridors;
- Strengthening transit potential;
- Solving problems of irrigation and land reclamation;
- Expansion of cultural and humanitarian ties;
- Cooperation in the fields of culture, tourism, education;
- Implementation of joint projects;
- Taking coordinated measures to ensure general security in the region.
The head of state focused on the fact that issues of adaptation to climate change, use of water resources and interaction in the energy sector are becoming increasingly important.
«In recent years, the world as a whole, and especially our region, has increasingly felt the negative impact of climate change: abnormal frosts, emergencies, prolonged drought and low water levels have been observed. Therefore, in winter here, in Kyrgyzstan, and in neighboring countries of Central Asia, due to abnormal cold weather, electricity consumption has sharply increased, and in summer, due to drought and low water levels, there is widespread water shortage. I think it has already become obvious to everyone that there will be less and less water from year to year, and the need for it will increase more and more,» he added.
Kyrgyzstan has responsibly and fully fulfilled and continues to fulfill its interstate obligations on water resources, even despite the damage caused to water management and hydraulic engineering facilities of the republic due to low water levels.
Sadyr Japarov emphasized that negative trends make us think about the need to change the attitude towards water as a necessary condition for life support for all living in the region and future generations.
«For the rational use of water and energy resources in Central Asia, we need to take drastic, specific and effective measures, first of all, to attract large-scale capital investments, both public and private, into the water and energy sectors of the countries. «I also would like to note that the activities of regional organizations on water use issues in Central Asia should also meet the interests and needs of all states, both upstream and downstream,» he believes.
The President proposed reforming water management organizations so that they correspond to today’s realities. He also proposed resuming cooperation within the framework of the 1998 agreement on the use of water and energy resources of Naryn — Syr Darya rivers between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
This document provides for a balanced exchange of water and energy resources.
«We are open and ready for constructive and mutually beneficial cooperation on the entire range of water and energy issues. I propose to create in Bishkek a regional center for the introduction of energy-efficient and resource-saving technologies in the Central Asian region, which would ensure the rational use of water and energy resources in our region as a whole,» Sadyr Japarov emphasized.
He also told that in Kyrgyzstan the approach to water policy is changing from user-based to environmental one. Its essence is to ensure the protection of the zone of formation of water resources, the safety of hydraulic structures and the formation of complete information about the ecological state in the upper reaches of rivers, as well as the creation of an economic mechanism for the preservation of a unified ecological system and sustainable development of the republic. At the international level, the country is promoting initiatives aimed at sustainable mountain development, conservation of glaciers and water resource formation zones.
The unresolved nature of water and energy problems in one country may be reflected in the issue of water provision for other Central Asian states.
Sadyr Japarov
He proposed joining forces to attract investments and introduce modern technologies into the water sector of Kyrgyzstan, as the country that forms almost half of the region’s water resources. He believes that this will not only make it possible to use water and energy resources more efficiently, but also increase resistance to impact of the natural environment.
