Today by sharing common interests and challenges, our region has entered the next stage of its development. In this respect, close and constructive political dialogue among all five regional countries will be instrumental for trade, economic, investment, and people-to-people interaction.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of KazakhstanSuccessful regional cooperation will allow us to achieve concrete results in solving existing problems and improve the well-being of our peoples. I am convinced that we have all the necessary prerequisites for stable, open and dynamic development on the basis of friendship and good neighborliness.
Sooronbai Jeenbekov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic
The consequences of climate change and the increasing demand for water resources associated with population growth and the development of economies in the region dictate the need for coordination and joint actions in the field of integrated use of water resources.
Emomali Rahmon, President of the Republic of TajikistanWe believe that consideration and resolution of water use problems should be based on universally recognized norms of international law, mutual respect and consideration of the interests of all states in the region and with the participation of specialized international organizations.
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, President of Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan is interested in the region to become a zone of stability, sustainable development and good neighborliness. A peaceful, economically prosperous Central Asia is our most important goal and key task. Uzbekistan is determined to engage in dialogue, constructive interaction and strengthening good-neighborliness.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
The Aral Sea’s progressive disappearance was not because of climate change, it was mismanagement by humankind of water resources. But it also shows that if in relation to climate change, we are not able to act forcefully to tame this phenomenon, we might see this kind of tragedy multiply around the world.
António Guterres, UN Secretary GeneralThe Central Asia region has the most to gain from properly managing water resources under climate change compared to other regions. Our assessments show that of all the world’s regions, the impact of future water consumption patterns has the greatest impact on economic growth in Central Asia.
Lilia Burunciuc, the World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia
We welcome the “new positive winds blowing" in Central Asia conducive to strengthening regional cooperation. […] We see the need to further reenergise interregional and intraregional cooperation for addressing the rapidly growing impact of climate change in the region.
Peter Burian, EU Special Representative for Central AsiaA lot of water sources are shared. So working together is the beginning point to set up cooperative arrangements, institutions between the governments of the region that make practical solutions possible to handle the problem.
Dan Smith, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Director