Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Within the framework of the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was held in Dubai (UAE), the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mukhtar Babayev, the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan Erlan Nysanbaev, Minister of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic Melis Turgunbaev, accompanied by the Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan Aziz Abdukhakimov, visited the national pavilion of Uzbekistan.

The ministers got acquainted with the large-scale work carried out in Uzbekistan to adapt to climate change, mitigate its consequences, the President’s initiatives to green the dried up bottom of the Aral Sea, the national program “Yashil Makon” (“Green Space”), increasing the share of renewable energy sources, fulfilling the obligations of the Paris agreement and achieving carbon neutrality.

A multilateral ministerial meeting was organized with the participation of the Director General of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), F. Rijsberman, who expressed his readiness to support the process of a gradual transition of countries to the principles of a green economy through joint programs and projects.

The ministers emphasized the political will and reforms of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan aimed at strengthening regional connectivity within existing platforms such as the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), the UN Special Program for the Economies of Central Asia, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan (SPECA) and others.

The opening of the Central Asian University for Environmental Studies and Climate Change (Green University) was noted, which will become a platform for training specialists in the field of ecology in the countries of the region.

The ministers are interested in supporting the initiative of the Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of the Republic of Uzbekistan A. Abdukhakimov in developing a regional review of environmental activities for the countries of the region.

At the end of the dialogue, the parties were invited to take an active part in the upcoming high-level international events in Samarkand, including the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14, on 12-17 February 2024) and the first Samarkand International Climate Change forum (March 2024).