95th meeting of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination of Central Asia

On 7 October 2026, in Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan, at the invitation of the leadership of the State Committee for Water Management of Turkmenistan, Askhat Orazbay, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (EC IFAS), participated in and addressed the 95th meeting of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination of Central Asia (ICWC).

The Head of EC IFAS briefed the members of the ICWC on the results of Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship of the Fund for the period 2024–2026.

Particular interest was expressed in the implementation of the Fourth Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-4) and two projects funded by grants from the French Development Agency (AFD): a project on the adjustment of hydromodule zoning in the Syr Darya River Basin using Earth observation data and satellite mapping, and a joint project with UNICEF aimed at promoting water conservation among children and young people. These projects cover more than 1.7 million hectares of irrigated land and 65 educational institutions, reaching approximately 70,000 students.

In addition, Mr. Orazbay highlighted the implementation of the grant-funded Central Asia Water Efficiency Cooperation (CAWEC) project, carried out jointly with the World Bank, with a budget of USD 20 million. The project comprises three components: “Development of Potential Transboundary Investment Projects,” “Digitalization and Automation of Water Resources Management Systems,” and “Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building.”

At the invitation of the Turkmen side, the Head of EC IFAS also participated in a high-level meeting of Central Asian states on the rational use of water resources of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers.