Kyrgyzstan has “frozen” participation in operation of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea

Almaty. May 20. Silkroadnews – In the course of the 3rd High Level Political and Security Dialogue between the European Union and Central Asian countries in Brussels Kyrgyzstan declared “freezing” its participation in the activities of IFAS and its bodies, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic reports.

According to the Foreign Ministry report, the meeting was held at the level of deputy foreign ministers of Central Asian countries. Kyrgyzstan’s delegation was headed by First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Dinara Kemelova. European side was represented by Deputy Secretary General for the External Action Service Helga Schmid.

“In the context of regional cooperation, First Deputy Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Dinara Kemelova direct the attention to the problems of water and energy cooperation in Central Asia, in particular, activities of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, which does not take into account the hydropower aspects of water management and needs of certain Central Asian states. The reforms repeatedly offered to the IFAS by the Kyrgyz side have not been implemented. In this regard, Kyrgyzstan has decided to “freeze” its participation in the activities of IFAS and its bodies,” a statement on the website of the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The Kyrgyz side also noted that does not see prospects for the renewal of their participation in the fund without a full-scale reform of the IFAS.

D. Kemelova has also raised the issues on boosting the projects in the fields of education, cultivation, uranium tailings ponds and energy projects, including “CASA-1000”.