President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon announced the establishment of the International Prize of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan in the field of water resources. He announced this while speaking on May 26 at the opening of the Fourth High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development, 2018–2028”.
According to the head of state, the new prize is established to promote and strengthen water diplomacy, as well as to unite the efforts of the international community for a sustainable and secure future.
Emomali Rahmon noted that the prize will be awarded for outstanding contributions to the development of international cooperation, scientific research, sustainable water policy, and the promotion of effective solutions to global water issues.
The President emphasized that in recent years Tajikistan has taken a number of practical steps to promote water issues in the international sustainable development agenda. He reminded that the country’s initiatives in this area have repeatedly received support from the UN General Assembly.
The head of state declared that Tajikistan consistently advocates for a balanced, inclusive, and results-oriented approach to addressing water issues.
In his speech, Emomali Rahmon also drew attention to the ongoing global problems in the water sector. According to him, billions of people worldwide still lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation services, and about 4 billion people face at least a month of severe water scarcity each year.
The President noted that by 2050, global demand for drinking water could increase by at least 25%, and the need for food production by 50%. Moreover, almost half of the world’s urban population may face water shortages.
The head of state reported that Tajikistan is taking measures at the national and regional levels. In particular, the country is implementing a program of water sector reform, has adopted the National Water Strategy until 2040 and the State Program for Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation for 2025–2029.
Emomali Rahmon also emphasized the importance of transboundary cooperation in the water sector. According to him, Tajikistan considers the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea as an important regional platform for discussing and solving water problems in the interests of sustainable development. In this regard, the president proposed to improve the fund’s structure and create an Interstate Energy Commission of Central Asia within its framework.
Considering the common interests of countries in global cooperation in the water sector, the head of Tajikistan put forward an initiative to create the “Dushanbe Framework Program on Water Issues”. According to Rahmon, it could become the basis for coordinating international efforts and promoting the global water agenda beyond 2030.
