DUSHANBE, 26.08.2021 (NIAT Khovar) –  On 25 August 2021, within the framework of the World Water Week 2021, under the chairmanship of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan Sharaf Sheralizoda and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Cooperation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Kitty van der Heijden, a special session on “Preparing for an inclusive and action-oriented UN Water Conference 2023” was held in virtual format.

Sh. Sheralizoda spoke about the goals, objectives and other issues of the preparation process for the UN Water Conference in 2023, the development of joint actions of the UN member states to take the necessary measures, the organization of the next high-level International Conference on the International Decade for Action «Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028» in 2022 in Dushanbe, scheduled as an important global preparatory event for the United Nations Decade of Action Comprehensive Review Conference (New York, 2023).

The parties stressed the importance of the process of full preparation for the UN Water Conference in 2023 and continuing cooperation in the framework of international sectoral meetings, UN meetings, special consultations of the Friends of Water Group and other cooperation instruments.

The participants of the virtual meeting exchanged views on the plan and program of further cooperation.

It should be noted that on 21 December 2020, the 75th session of the UN General Assembly unanimously approved the draft resolution of Tajikistan “United Nations Conference on the Mid-Term Review of the Goals of the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018–2028” with the unanimity and co-authorship of 190 states members of the UN. According to the resolution, the UN-2023 Water Conference will be held on 22-24 March 2023 in New York under the auspices of Tajikistan and the Netherlands. The conference is the first UN Water Conference of its kind since the 1977 High Level Water Conference in Mar del Plata.