August 24, 2018
Joint press conference following the meeting of the heads of the founding states of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea
Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan
Speaking to journalists and members of official delegations, the Head of State thanked the President of Turkmenistan for the traditionally warm welcome and noted the high level of the summit.
– It is symbolic that our meeting is held right after the holy for all Muslims holiday Kurban Ait. Taking this opportunity, I would like to wish our fraternal people peace and prosperity, “said Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The President of Kazakhstan pointed out that the Aral Sea crisis has become one of the biggest ecological disasters in the history of mankind and noted that over the past half century the sea water area has decreased by 9 and the volume of water by 30 times.
– Annually from the dried-up bottom of the Aral Sea winds up to 80 million tons of poisonous salts. They are carried by dust storms for many thousands of kilometers – from Western Europe to the peaks of the Himalayas, having a negative impact on the health of people and ecosystems of all our countries, “said the Head of State.
Nursultan Nazarbayev noted that the parties found it necessary to appeal to the world community, the UN, all funds and banks that deal with this problem, to support the efforts of the founding states of IFAS aimed at improving the environmental situation in the Aral region.
– We in turn agreed to improve the work of the Foundation. In a narrow circle, we frankly and honestly discussed all the issues, including the revision of outdated decisions, and also analyzed the activities of all its governing and executive bodies, “said the President of Kazakhstan.
The Head of State noted the importance of economical use of irrigation water and modern technologies, including drip irrigation, which reduces water costs by 50-60% and increases productivity by 4-5 times.
– There were very useful proposals based on modern scientific approaches. For example, to strengthen the salt at the bottom of the green plantations that are resistant to it, which will help improve the ecological situation and at the same time serve as a source of feed for farm animals, “said Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The President of Kazakhstan indicated that all proposals are fixed in the summit communiqué and noted that the Turkmen side will summarize them, and the executive committee will develop a clear plan for further actions.
In conclusion, the Head of State said that the parties discussed in detail the issues of convergence of positions on water management, water and energy and environmental aspects of the region, and stressed that Kazakhstan highly appreciates the results of the negotiations.