Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 17 March 2024, a meeting was held at the Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan with Marco Arcieri, President of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).

The Minister of Water Resources of Uzbekistan Shavkat Khamraev, who is also the Honorary Vice-President of the ICID, warmly welcomed the guest during his visit to our country and noted that his first visit to Uzbekistan as the President of the ICID is a good opportunity to exchange ideas on large-scale issues of mutual cooperation in areas of water management, irrigation and food security.

In turn, Marco Arcieri noted that this is his first official visit as President of the ICID to Central Asia and he has big plans and new ideas, intends to take the cooperation of the ICID with Uzbekistan to a new level.

“Before coming here, I got acquainted with information about the work and achievements in Uzbekistan on the efficient use of water, modernization of irrigation networks, updating pumping stations, and the introduction of modern technologies. It is especially commendable that Uzbekistan is a leader among the countries in the region in introducing water-saving technologies,” said Marco Arcieri.

The meeting was also attended by the Vice-President of ICID, Head of the Agency of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea Vadim Sokolov, who presented the work done within the framework of the strategy for the development of the water resources management and irrigation sector in the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2021-2023. In particular, the results achieved in such areas as saving water and electricity, digitalization, and public-private partnership were mentioned.

It was said that, on the initiative of the head of our state, 2024 was declared: “The Year of Concreting Canals,” within the framework of which work is underway to concrete 1.5 thousand km of large canals and 10 thousand km of small (on-farm) canals.

Marco Arcieri got acquainted with the laboratories of the Research Institute of Irrigation and Water Problems of the Ministry, the scientific research conducted and the conditions created for young scientists, the exhibition site on drip irrigation, as well as the activities of the “Water Saving School”, created with the support of the Agrobank of Uzbekistan.

The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage is the leading scientific, technical and professional non-profit international organization working in the fields of irrigation, drainage and flood management to promote and achieve sustainable management of water resources in agriculture around the globe. ICID was founded on 24 June 1950 and today includes about 100 countries, which together cover more than 90% of the world's irrigated areas.
“Achieving higher crop productivity with less water and energy input” is the most cherished goal of the ICID Vision 2030.
The Republic of Uzbekistan has been a member of the ICID since 1993. The National Committee for Irrigation and Drainage of the Republic of Uzbekistan under the Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan interacts with the ICID and coordinates coordinated activities in our country.
The first representative of Uzbekistan as Vice-President of the ICID was academician Alexander Askochinsky in the 1960s, who did a lot to create a modern irrigation system throughout Central Asia. In independent Uzbekistan, this honor was awarded to Professor Viktor Dukhovny in 2003. In 2019, the Minister of Water Resources of Uzbekistan Shavkat Khamraev was elected Vice-President of the ICID for a period of 3 years. He is currently the Honorary Vice-President of the ICID. The head of the Agency of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, Vadim Sokolov, was elected Vice-President of the ICID in November 2023 for a term of three years.
The purpose of the visit of the President of the ICID Marco Arcieri to Uzbekistan was to participate in a series of training seminars on the topic “Guidelines for farmers on managing soil and water resources in saline areas”, developed within the framework of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Global Framework Program for overcoming water scarcity in agriculture farm (WASAG). Seminars will be held in Karshi, Nukus and Chimbay during the period of 19-21 March 2024.