Kyrgyzstan has made the decision to freeze its participation in activities of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea and its bodies, Deputy Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan Dinara Kemelova said at the third High Level Political and Security Dialogue between the European Union and Central Asian countries on May 18 in Brussels.

The meeting focused on economic development and trade issues. The participants exchanged views on a number of key issues of mutual relevance, including counter-terrorism, border management, migration or regional connectivity, and how to further enhance concrete cooperation in these areas. They also discussed possible joint programmes to enhance cross-border security and stability, regional and international issues.

Deputy Minister Kemelova raised the problems in hydropower cooperation in Central Asia and activities of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) in particular, saying the Fund does not take into account hydropower aspects of water use and needs of certain Central Asian states. The reforms of the International Fund repeatedly proposed by Kyrgyzstan were not carried out, the Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized.

Kyrgyzstan does not see prospects to resume its participation in IFAS activities, Deputy Minister Kemelova stated.

 Ms. Kemelova touched upon advancement of projects in education, reclamation of uranium mill tailings, energy sector, CASA-1000 Project among them.

Promotion of bilateral cooperation projects and programs was reviewed at the meeting of Deputy Foreign Minister Kemelova with Helga Schmid, Deputy Secretary General for Political Affairs of the European External Action Service, the Foreign Ministry of Kyrgyzstan said.

The heads of the Central Asian states - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan - established the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea on January 4, 1993. Its aims include continued cooperation aiming to improve the ecological and socio-economic situation in the Aral Sea basin; development of mutually acceptable mechanisms for integrated water resources management and environmental protection in Central Asia taking into account interests of all states in the region.

AKIpress