President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, took part online in the fourth Asia-Pacific Water Summit.
The current meeting, held under the motto "Water for sustainable development - best practices and the next generation", was attended by heads of state, government and high-ranking representatives of a number of countries in the region and international organizations.
Speaking at the summit, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov noted that the Asia-Pacific region today acts as one of the most powerful poles of global development, which imposes great responsibility on the states of the region in their approaches to the problem of preserving and using the planet's water resources.
The head of state expressed his conviction that the main condition for joint activities in this direction should remain an unconditional commitment to the principle of equal and fair access to water resources, recognizing it as a fundamental human right. According to Serdar Berdimuhamedov, this is especially important in the current conditions, when the coronavirus pandemic has caused serious damage to the global economy, global food security, and has had a negative impact on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In continuation of the speech, the head of state spoke about the efforts made by Turkmenistan at the national level. In particular, we are talking about the Code of Turkmenistan “On Water” adopted in 2014 and the creation of a unique artificial lake “Altyn Asyr” (“Golden Age”) in the Karakum desert. According to the President, the construction of this man-made reservoir, and in fact, the most complex hydraulic engineering system, will make it possible to successfully solve environmental, economic and social issues, work effectively to ensure long-term environmental well-being both in Turkmenistan itself and in the entire region of Central Asia.
Serdar Berdimuhamedov stressed that, while implementing such large-scale undertakings, Ashgabat proceeds from the fact that effective international cooperation on water issues should be firmly based on the relevant criteria for work at the national level.
In conclusion, the Turkmen leader noted that Turkmenistan fully supports the goals and objectives of the current summit and expressed confidence that the adoption of a declaration based on its results will become one of the platforms for subsequent purposeful and substantive international cooperation.
Source: Turkmenistan.ru