Chaired by Prime Minister Qohir Rasoulzoda, the Organizing Committee on preparing Dushanbe for hosting the Second Conference of the 2018-2028 International Decade for Action 'Water for Sustainable Development' scheduled for June 18-20, 2020 and a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) that will take place in the Tajik capital in summer 2021 held its first meeting on November 25.
In order to accelerate efforts towards meeting water-related challenges, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2018-2028 as the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”. The Water Action Decade commenced on World Water Day, March 22, 2018, and will end on World Water Day, March 22, 2028.
The objectives of the Decade focus on the sustainable development and integrated management of water resources for the achievement of social, economic and environmental objectives and on the implementation and promotion of related programs and projects, as well as on the furtherance of cooperation and partnership at all levels in order to help to achieve internationally agreed water-related goals and targets, including those contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
A jubilee summit of the SCO will take place in Dushanbe in 2021. In 2021, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will mark the 20th anniversary of its founding.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded at a Summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization currently has eight full members — China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, India, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia are four observer states, and SCO’s dialogue partners include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Turkey. ACEAN, CIS, Turkmenistan and the United Nations are guest attendances.
The SCO now represents around 42% of the world’s population, 22% of its land area and around 20% of GDP.
