DUSHANBE, 07.11.2022 (NIAT Khovar) – The Founder of Peace and National Unity — Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, in the city of Sharm El Sheikh, Arab Republic of Egypt, participated and spoke at the opening ceremony of Tajikistan Water Pavilion in the margins of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-27).

The Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands also took part and spoke at this ceremony. They highly appreciated the global initiatives of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan as a leading figure in promoting water and climate issues at the global level.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Water and Climate Pavilion, the Honorable Head of State Emomali Rahmon first greeted the heads of state and government and leaders of influential organizations.

The President of Tajikistan stated that our country has been steadily and actively promoting water issues in the world development agenda for more than two decades. During this period, on the initiative of Tajikistan, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted 8 resolutions related to water. Resolutions on declaring 2003 as the «International Year of Fresh Water», 2005-2015 as the International Decade of Action «Water for Life», 2013 as the «International Year of Water Cooperation» are among such actions.

It was emphasized that these events effectively contributed to the promotion of water issues at the global level and contributed to attracting more attention of the international community to the need to solve them.

At the same time, on the initiative of our country, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Resolution on the International Decade of Action «Water for Sustainable Development», 2018-2028. At the heart of this Decade’s efforts is a fresh impetus and momentum for action in the water sector in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

It should be noted that in June of this year, the Second Dushanbe Conference on the International Decade of Action «Water for Sustainable Development» was held in Tajikistan. At this conference, key messages for the United Nations Water Conference in 2023 were developed, within the framework of which the process of implementation of the goals of this Decade will be evaluated.

It was emphasized that Tajikistan and the Netherlands, as co-chairs of the Water Conference, are trying to make it historic not only in terms of time, but also in terms of its results.

The heads of state confidently stressed that the Water Pavilion has also focused on the United Nations Water Conference, and it is hoped that the results of the sessions and discussions within it will make a valuable contribution to the preparation process for this prestigious conference next year.

During the analysis and discussion of the issues of climate change, the melting of Tajikistan’s glaciers and the impact of natural disasters, the Honorable Head of State Emomali Rahmon once again emphasized the need to increase the capacity of producing «green energy» from renewable sources in Tajikistan and the proposal of our country to declare 2025 as the «International Year of Glacier Protection».

At the end of the speech, the President of the country, Emomali Rahmon, expressed confidence that the Water Pavilion will also contribute to the promotion of constructive goals.

It is worth mentioning that the Water and Climate Pavilion of Tajikistan within the framework of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on the topic «Unifying the world to combat climate change» has been organized in order to accelerate the implementation of the goals of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Convention on Climate Change.

Organized by the Republic of Tajikistan together with the Arab Republic of Egypt, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in cooperation with more than 35 different organizations and institutions, the Water and Climate Pavilion is a unique platform to showcase and promote the central role of water in achieving progress both in adaptation and mitigation of climate change. The Water and Climate Pavilion will be open from November 7 to 18 in the city of Sharm El Sheikh, and each day will be dedicated to different topics. Its program covers a wide range of sub-topics from health, nutrition and energy to gender, development and biodiversity.