High level Side Event “Revitalizing and Consolidating Efforts Towards the Implementation of Water-Related SDGs”

On 23 September 2016 on the sidelines of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in New York there was held a High level Side Event entitled “Revitalizing and Consolidating Efforts Towards the Implementation of Water-Related SDGs” organized by the initiative of Tajikistan. The event, organized in cooperation with the Kingdom of Thailand, United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs, and United Nations Development Program, was attended by the representatives and experts from more than 70 member-states and international organizations.

At the high level side-event, chaired by H.E. Mr. Sirodjidin Aslov – the Tajik Foreign Minister, H.E. Peter Thomson, President of the 71st session of UN General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Wu Hongbo, UN Deputy Secretary-General on Economic and Social Affairs and H.E. Ms. Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator and other officials have made statements.

During the event, the statements were also delivered by H.E. Apichart Chinwanno, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Ms. Jennifer Sara, Director of the Water Global Practice of World Bank, Ms. Oyun Sanjaasuren, Chair of the Global Water Partnership, Mr. Zafar Adeel, Executive Director of the Pacific Water Research Center, Foreign Ministers of Bahamas, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and officials from Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Iran and Nepal.

In his speech, Minister Aslov has briefed the participants on the outcomes of the High-level International Symposium entitled “Ensuring that no one is left behind in access to water and sanitation” held in Dushanbe on 9-11 August 2016. The Tajik Foreign Minister has called upon the representatives of the UN member-states to support the new initiative of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan H.E. Emomali Rahmon on proclamation of a new International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” 2018-2020.