High status of water

 

As a part of the Head of State’s instructions, given in the annual Message on October 5, 2018 to increase a labor productivity and export of processed agricultural products by 2.5 times to 2022, one of the objectives of their implementation is the further development of irrigated agriculture. In southern regions of the Country irrigated agriculture is developed in close cooperation with neighboring countries under agreements on transboundary rivers and is particularly relevant for the Republic of Kazakhstan.

A large number of participants and a high level of representation show the great political attention paid by Kazakhstan to strengthening transboundary water cooperation in a situation of growing pressure on water resources.
The discussions will address issues of adaptation to climate change, the system of links between water resources, food, energy and ecosystems, the benefits of transboundary water cooperation, industrial safety and accountability. Completely new challenges will also be raised, such as financing, which is a key aspect for improving the efficiency and sustainability of transboundary basin management.

In his speech, Mr. U. Shukeyev , the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Minister of Agriculture noted that Mr. N. Nazarbayev the Head of State pays special attention to issues of transboundary cooperation, including transboundary water resources, calling them the Common heritage and the Good of all people of the Region. Kazakhstan adheres to the position of civilized interstate water relations building based on norms of international law.
The Meeting will adopt a number of decisions and documents, including two key documents defining joint future work – the Strategy for the Convention Implementation at the Global Level and the Program of the Convention for 2019-2021.

The Water Convention is an International document that creates a legal framework for cooperation on protection and rational use of transboundary waters and can be considered as a tool to help prevent conflicts and resolve disputes.
The global status of the Convention creates new opportunities for Member States and International community to develop and improve the regulatory legal framework for water cooperation.
At the Eighth Session of the Meeting, the presidency of the Convention Bureau for 2019-2021 will be transferred to the Kazakhstan side. This will further strengthen a prestige of Kazakhstan as a country committed to international law, expand opportunities for cooperation development at the global level, will help attract investment in development and implementation of projects in the field of protection and use of transboundary rivers water resources, and will also strengthen the country's scientific and institutional potential in the water sector.