Today, March 20, 2022, the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, Co-Chairman of the Dushanbe Water Process Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda made a presentation as a special guest at the 77th meeting of the Board of Governors of the World Water Council in Dakar, Senegal.
The presentation consisted of two parts – the first was dedicated to the 2nd High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028. “Catalyzing water action and partnership at the local, national, regional and global levels”, which will be held on June 6-9, 2022 in Dushanbe, and the second – the UN Conference on the Midterm Review of the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028 , which will be held on March 22-24, 2023 in New York City under the co-chairmanship of Tajikistan and the Netherlands.
During the speech, Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda provided general information on the preparation of the above-mentioned conferences, including the main tasks, the preparation process, further steps and expected results, as well as the need to ensure an inclusive and comprehensive approach both in the preparation of these events, and at the conferences themselves.
The meeting participants were provided with information on the measures taken by the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan to hold the Dushanbe Conference at the highest level and the importance of this conference for the preparation of the UN Conference in 2023.
This conference is expected to be historic in moving water issues to the global agenda as it is being held for the first time after almost 50 years. The first UN Water Conference was held in 1977 in Mar del Plata, Argentina.
Regarding the preparation of this conference, the well-coordinated and coordinated work of Tajikistan and the Netherlands as co-chairs of the conference and UNDESA and UN-Water as the Secretariat was noted, using various mechanisms and platforms for the possible involvement of all interested parties in its preparation and conduct.
As both conferences aim to implement the International Decade for Action on “Water for Sustainable Development”, the importance and necessity of making commitments and accelerating action to achieve the water-related Sustainable Development Goals and other internationally agreed goals and targets was re-emphasized.