Water Unites

The 2009 summit and the reform process
2008 was an extremely water-stressed year, in particular for the Syr Darya Basin. A very
cold winter in 2007/08 forced Kyrgyzstan to discharge more water than usual for energy
production. It was followed by an unusually dry spring and summer, in which the downstream
states could not receive sufficient water for irrigation due to the low water level in
the Toktogul reservoir. It became obvious that the existing institutions and regulations
were not able to prevent or even manage such a crisis. It was only thanks to an extraordinary
meeting of the Central Asian presidents in October 2008 that a preliminary solution
was found for the upcoming year, with deliveries of extra energy from downstream
countries to upstream ones in winter in exchange for sufficient water releases in summer.
In this situation, Kazakhstan took over the rotating presidency of IFAS and the EC IFAS
moved from Dushanbe to Almaty.
On 29 April 2009, the Central Asian heads of states met for an IFAS summit in
Almaty. In their joint statement, they emphasized the importance of IFAS, expressed their
readiness to improve its organizational structure and tasked IFAS’ bodies to develop a
third phase of the Aral Sea Basin Program.
i Joint Statement of the Heads of States,
Founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea
The meeting of the Presidents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic
of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan took place in Almaty on 28
April 2009. During negotiations, which took place in an atmosphere of mutual understanding,
trust, friendship, and structural cooperation, the Heads of States of Central Asia discussed
issues related to the activities of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, which was
established in 1993, with the objective of implementing joint practical activities and programs
to address the Aral Sea crisis and improving environmental and socioeconomic conditions
within the Aral Sea Basin.
Heads of the State-Founders of the IFAS, further additional «parties»
– guided by centuries-old good neighbourly relationships and common history, culture
and traditions, good brotherhood and strategic partnership between countries that are
responsible for the utmost interests of the people of the region,
– based on the rich experience of fruitful collaboration and expressing mutual interest to
bring intergovernmental relationships to a higher level,
– striving towards mutual assistance and support for achieving Millennium Development
Goals and improving socioeconomic and environmental conditions within the Aral Sea
Basin,
– emphasizing that the development of mutual collaboration among the states of Central
Asia is very important for ensuring sustainable development and regional safety,
IFAS: A history of post-Soviet cooperation 53