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On 18 May 2022, under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan, Chairman of the Organizing Committee Mr. Kokhir Rasulzoda, a regular meeting of the Organizing Committee for the preparation and holding of the Second International High-Level Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028 was held which is planned for 6-9 June 2022 in Dushanbe.The meeting was attended by heads and responsible persons of relevant ministries and departments of the country.

During the meeting, questions were discussed about the preparations for the conference, including the participation of official delegations, finalization of the program, preparation of the draft final document, holding of the cultural events, and other organizational issues.During the meeting, it was noted that the preparatory process is going in the right direction and the ministries and departments of the country are taking all necessary measures for the successful holding of this important global event.

The members of the Organizing Committee also paid special attention to the World Marathon “Run Blue”, which started in Tajikistan on 15 May 2022 under the leadership of global activist Mina Guli, the Dushanbe Water Festival, scheduled for the evening of 6 June, the exhibition and excursions that complement the conference program with various thematic, sports and cultural events. It was noted that in Tajikistan, Mina Guli will run 11 marathons with a total length of 464.2 km (42.2 km each), starting from the Amu Darya River in the south of the country to the Fedchenko Glacier.

The water festival consists of an extensive program, including an exhibition of folk crafts and creativity, national cuisine, display of national clothes, a concert program, and other show programs. The Conference Exhibition will be dedicated to the theme “Water for Sustainable Development” with the presentation of best practices, technologies and innovations in the field of water, and excursions will be organized to demonstrate the policy and practice of Tajikistan in the field of water management, as well as to present the country’s potential in the fields of water, hydropower, industry, agriculture and tourism.

It is expected that about 2,000 dignitaries, politicians, scientists, experts representing national governments, the UN and its agencies, international and regional organizations, financial institutions, academic institutions, civil society, including women and youth, will attend the conference. The progress achieved during the implementation of the Water Decade, the existing problems and obstacles to achieve its goals, stimulating and accelerating actions and partnerships to achieve the water goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable development will be the main issues for discussion within the frame of the conference.

The Dushanbe Conference will be a key milestone in preparation for the UN Conference on the Midterm Review of the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028, which will be held in March 2023 in New York under the chairmanship p of Tajikistan and the Netherlands. The New York Conference is expected to be historic, not only in terms of time (for the first time after almost 50 years) but also in terms of delivering results, marking a turning point in accelerating action to achieve the water goals.Following the meeting, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan gave relevant instructions to the ministries and departments of the country to accelerate the preparation and holding of the Dushanbe Conference at a high level.

Today 21 April 2022 the 19th meeting of the High-level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP) was held in Kumamoto, Japan on the eve of the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit.

The meeting was chaired by Dr. Han Seung-Soo, Head of HELP, former Prime Minister of South Korea, and aimed to discuss the progress of initiatives under the HELP platform, as well as plans and actions of this platform in global water events, including the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit, UNDRR Global Platform, Second Dushanbe Water Decade Conference, High Political Forum in New York, COP-27 in Egypt and etc.

The meeting was attended by H.E. Dr. Basuki Hadimuljono, Minister of Public Works and Housing, Republic of Indonesia, H.E. Mr. Mark Harbers, Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management, Kingdom of the Netherlands (video message), Dr. Armida Salsiah, Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General, and Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Mr. Woochong Um, Managing Director General, Asian Development Bank, Mr. Loic Fauchon, President, World Water Council and other high-ranking officials.

Dr. Han Seung-Soo in his speech noted the importance and timeliness of the UN 2023 Water Conference and the significant role of the Second Dushanbe Conference in its preparation. He emphasized HELP’s willingness to work closely with the organizers of these conferences to achieve their goals. In this context, he noted the importance of integrating disaster risk reduction issues into the agenda of these conferences, since more than 80% of natural disasters are somehow related to water resources.

At this meeting, Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda, Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan to the High-Level Panel on Water and Climate Issues, made a presentation on the 2nd Dushanbe Water Decade Conference and on the preparations for the UN 2023 Water Conference.

At the end of the presentation, an exchange of views took place on how the issues of disaster risk reduction could be interconnected with the water theme and what commitments could be made collectively or individually by the members of HELP on the way to the UN 2023 Water Conference, considering its focus on stimulating and accelerating actions.

The participants of the meeting were invited to participate in the Dushanbe conference, as well as to be more actively involved in the preparatory process of the UN 2023 Water Conference, co-chaired by Tajikistan and the Netherlands.