On March 30, 2026, a meeting of the Board of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) was held in Astana under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, K. Bozumbayev.
This high-level meeting has been convened for the third time since the Republic of Kazakhstan assumed the IFAS chairmanship for 2024–2026, and serves as a key stage in preparation for the upcoming meeting of the Council of Heads of State—founders of the Fund, scheduled for April 22 this year in Astana.
The meeting was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan, S. Ziyozoda; the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan, T. Atahallyev; Advisor to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Sh. Ganiev; Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, N. Nurzhigitov; Minister of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Sh. Khamraev; Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry – Director of the Water Resources Service, A. Zheenaliev; Chairman of the Executive Committee of the IFAS, A. Orazbay; as well as representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs, water resources, and environmental protection of the IFAS founding states.
During the meeting, participants discussed current issues related to the Fund’s activities, further improvement of its organizational structure and legal framework, as well as approaches to key areas of cooperation among the five Central Asian states within IFAS. As a result of the meeting, five decisions were adopted.
