History of the creation and development of IFAS

On June 23, 1990, an appeal to the peoples of Central Asia and the first Joint Statement by the leaders of the countries of Central Asia was announced in Almaty, where the environmental disaster of the Aral Sea region was first recognized as an acute problem in the region.
In 1992, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev addressed the Heads of State of the Central
Asian countries should join efforts to mitigate the negative impact of the drying up of the Aral Sea on the environment and the population of the region.

Agreement

At the meeting of the heads of state of Central Asia in
Kyzylorda On March 26, 1993, the heads of state of Central Asia adopted the “Agreement on joint actions to solve the problems of the Aral Sea and the Aral region, environmental recovery and ensure the socio-economic development of the Aral region” and signed the Regulations on the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS),
which was the date of formation of IFAS. N. Nazarbayev, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, was elected President of the IFAS.

International level

During the years of independent development of the countries of Central Asia, the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan showed political will to resolve issues of joint use of water resources in the Aral Sea basin, taking into account the interests of all states in the region.

Development

During this period, thanks to the consistent policies of the leaders of the Central Asian countries,
IFAS and its organizations have become an indispensable political platform for the negotiation process between countries, the development and adoption of bilateral and multilateral agreements for the purpose of integrated management, use and conservation of transboundary water resources.