Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The third meeting of the Advisory Committee on Sustainable Development of the Aral Sea region, organized by the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the United Nations Organization (UN), was held in the format of a videoconference.

The purpose of the event is to consider and approve the Multilateral Roadmap for sustainable development of the Aral Sea region, as well as expand partnership and coordinate donor assistance to support the socio-economic development of the Aral Sea region.

The Advisory Committee was created on the initiative of the Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Human Security for the Aral Sea Region (MPTF) under the auspices of the United Nations as a single cooperation platform uniting all multi- and bilateral partners, as well as ensuring effective coordination of efforts in the Aral Sea region.

The event was co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan B. Abidov and UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan Helena Fraser.

The meeting was attended by about 140 representatives of foreign countries, UN agencies, financial institutions, international public and scientific institutions, charitable foundations, as well as ministries and departments of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

During the meeting, the Uzbek side presented for discussion and approval a draft Multilateral roadmap for sustainable development of the Aral Sea region, as well as the results of the activities of three working groups of the Advisory Committee for the first half of 2021.

The purpose of the Integrated Roadmap is to unite efforts to define a coherent action plan for sustainable development of the region. The formation of a coordinated approach will make it possible to effectively control activities and mobilize resources to achieve transformational changes in the inhabitants of the Aral Sea region.

The multilateral roadmap for sustainable development of the Aral Sea region was developed following the results of bilateral consultations with ministries, departments and the results of the activities of the first two working groups.

The document touches on 5 areas, including environmental well-being, economic development, social development, resource mobilization, analysis and development assessment, including a total of 251 priority tasks in 13 areas, as well as a list of 248 projects and activities. The budget for the preparatory stage for the implementation of these projects and activities is about US$205 million.

The document is intended to unite the efforts of foreign and international partners for the sustainable development of the Aral Sea region, as well as to ensure the use of a coordinated approach to mobilize resources for the implementation of measures to improve the living conditions of the Aral Sea region population and to effectively monitor these changes.

In support of this initiative, representatives of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) presented a vision of mechanisms for the effective implementation of this Roadmap to achieve concrete practical results in the region.

The participants in the meeting were unanimous in the opinion that an important factor in achieving success in the implementation of the goals set under the Roadmap will be the involvement of a wide range of foreign and international development partners, who unite in three working groups: on sustainable investments, according to data and evaluations; and awareness raising.

During the meeting, the participants heard information from UN agencies on the results achieved in the framework of the current joint programs funded by the MPTF.

During the discussion, representatives of international development partners, as well as ministries, departments and public organizations of Uzbekistan presented recommendations for further strengthening the sustainable development of the Aral Sea region.