DUSHANBE, 19.03.2021 (NIAT Khovar) – The Founder of Peace and National Unity, Leader of the Nation, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon took part in an online high-level meeting to promote the implementation of the water — related goals and targets of the 2030 agenda.

The meeting took place in the UN headquarters as per Tajikistan’s initiative titled “Comprehensive Mid-Term Review of the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Sustainable Development’ 2018 – 2028,» which had been adopted by UN Resolution in 2018.

Addressing the meeting President Rahmon noted that when Tajikistan initiated to declare the International Decade for Action Water for Sustainable Development 2018 – 2028, the government’s main goal was to promote the implementation of the water-related Sustainable Development Goals. Today this goal has gained even greater importance given the modern challenges and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our lives.

Currently nearly a third of the world’s population still does not have access to safe drinking water and over half face the lack of access to basic sanitation services.

Developing and least developed countries will obviously face difficulties in timely implementation of the 2030 agenda. In this regard, President Rahmon stressed that beyond doubt, this state of affairs illustrates the urgent need to strengthen cooperation in order to accelerate coordinated actions for achieving the 2030 agenda’s water-related goals.

Tajikistan has made significant efforts to promote water issues on the global development agenda over the past two decades. The UN General Assembly, at the initiative of Tajikistan, has adopted eight resolutions on water issues, which testifies to the importance of this agenda. Today, we can confidently claim that Tajikistan’s initiatives on water issues have remarkably contributed to strengthening and promoting specific actions for achieving Sustainable Development Goals.

It is impossible to achieve Sustainable Development Goals without bringing together all the stakeholders, particularly in the face of influence of modern challenges. In this regard, President Rahmon noted that the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” creates a favorable platform for collective actions and the world community should maximally utilize this platform.

Tajikistan plans to host a High-Level International Conference on the review of the Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” in 2022 in Dushanbe.