DUSHANBE, September 11, 2015, Asia-Plus – Tajik deputy Prime Minister, Azim Ibrohim, took part in the conference on ware and good neighborly relations in Central Asia (CA) that took place in Berlin on September 7-8.
According to the Tajik MFA information department, delegations from the Central Asian nations, the EU, the United Sates, Switzerland, Israel, the OSCE, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the World Bank and the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia took part in the conference.
The Federal Foreign Office of Germany notes that the conference marked the start of Phase III (2015-2017) of the Berlin Process. Phase III is set to durably strengthen regional institutions and processes – above all the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), an organization which deals with regional water management. The aim is to create an institutional framework within which the Central Asian states can manage their own water cooperation.
The Federal Foreign Office set up the Central Asia Water Initiative (Berlin Process) in 2008 in order to boost regional cooperation in the field of water, thus promoting sustainable water management. In Phase I (2008-2011) the focus was on political advisory services and strengthening institutions tasked with managing cross-border rivers. Phase II (2012-2014) prioritized support for the development of approaches to dealing with the increasing effects of climate change on water resources in Central Asia.
