An agreement has been reached on further strengthening cross-border cooperation between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan

Within the framework of the CMS COP14 international conference in Samarkand, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change, Aziz Abdukhakimov, met with the Chairman of the Environmental Protection Committee under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, Bahodur Sheralizoda.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister expressed gratitude to the distinguished guest for visiting the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.

It was also noted that since 2018, the republic has implementing a reforestation program on the dried-up bottom of the Aral Sea with a total area of 2 million hectares. In addition, it was reported that about 200 million trees are planted annually within the framework of the national “Yashil Makon” project, and the area of green spaces will be increased to 30%.

“We are actively pursuing a policy of expanding the network of protected natural areas, their area has been increased to 14% of the entire territory of the republic in recent years. We are confident that these efforts correspond to the goals and objectives of the tenth anniversary of the UN Ecosystem Restoration Initiative”, said Aziz Abdukhakimov.

At the meeting, attention was also paid to strengthening cross-border cooperation. A. Abdukhakimov noted that the opening of the office of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Uzbekistan plays an important role in the development of long-term action plans for the management of transboundary facilities.

“As stated in the greeting of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan at the opening ceremony, we support the improvement of regional dialogue and the development of cross-border cooperation in Central Asia. We are interested in creating a cross-border wholesale market in Central Asia on the border territories of our countries”, said the minister.

In addition, Tajikistan, along with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, joined the Raptors memorandum.

For information: Raptors is a CMS memorandum on the conservation of migratory birds in Africa and Eurasia, that aims to stimulate international coordinated action. The Memorandum is one of the working documents of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

Following the meeting, an agreement was reached to intensify cooperation in ensuring a favorable environmental situation in the region.