On 19 April, Tashkent hosted the ninth meeting of representatives of foreign ministries and parliamentarians of Central Asian countries on climate change, organised by the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) with the support of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ GmbH) “Green Central Asia – Transboundary Dialogue on Climate, Environment and Security in Central Asia and Afghanistan”.
The ninth meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and parliaments of Central Asia, national UNFCCC focal points, and representatives of international organisations and diplomatic missions accredited in Uzbekistan.
Participants discussed issues of enhancing regional and international cooperation and preparations for the COP-28 including a regional statement of the Central Asian countries. Particular attention was paid to new initiatives and projects in the region. The draft regional climate change adaptation strategy was introduced, and the country representatives voiced their opinions and suggestions; the majority of comments was very positive and supportive. Participants also shared experiences on climate change adaptation and mitigation legislation, institutional frameworks and implementation of climate policies in CA countries; progress was noted in implementing climate change commitments.
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A dialogue between representatives of Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Members of Parliaments of Central Asian countries to discuss urgent issues related to environment management in the region, and to exchange knowledge, experience and best practices was initiated by the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia (CAREC) in 2016 with the support of the EU. Climate change issues and strengthening intersectoral cooperation were first mentioned in the agenda of this dialogue platform in 2019. With the support of the World Bank, CAREC supported the proposal of representatives of ministries of foreign affairs and members of parliaments of the Central Asian countries to hold such events twice a year. Thus, eight meetings of representatives of MFA and members of parliaments of the Central Asian countries were organised.
At the Sixth Meeting of the Representatives of MFA and Members of Parliaments of the Central Asian Countries, in her address, Dr. Caroline Milow, Programme Manager, Green Central Asia – Transboundary dialogue on climate, environment and security in Central Asia and Afghanistan, GIZ, noted that it was highly important to conduct a dialogue between representatives of MFA and members of parliaments of the countries and announced the readiness of GIZ to further support the work of the platform of MFA and members of parliaments in 2022 and 2023.
