DUSHANBE, September 1, Asia-Plus — President Emomali Rahmonov is leaving for the Kazakh capital city of Astana today to attend an informal Central Asian summit that will take place in Astana tomorrow.
According to information from president’s executive office, the president of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will take part at the meeting, which is aiming to focus on the use of water resources and other regional issues. Further discussions on the creation of an international water-energy consortium as an instrument to promote the rational use of water resources in the region are supposed to be the most important issue on the summit agenda.
The idea to set up a consortium to ensure the river is used effectively and the interests of all the Central Asian countries are observed was put forward by Russia, which possesses 25% of the world”s water resources. The initiative received a boost at the August 15-16 summit of the Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC). Eurasian Development Bank, set up by Russia and Kazakhstan in January 2006, could finance the project.
On the sidelines of the summit in Astana, President Rahmonov also will hold bilateral talks with his counterparts from other Central Asian countries.
