On September 1, 2022, within the framework of the World Water Week, the Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan on Water and Climate, Mr. Sulton Rahimzoda and the Special Envoy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for Water Resources, Mr. Henk Ovink, took part in the session of the Panel of Experts and High-Level Leaders on Water Resources and natural disasters titled “Water Disaster Risk Reduction and the Water Decade for Action: Towards the UN 2023 Water Conference”.
The event was organized by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan with the support of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Kingdom of the Netherlands and aimed at concrete steps to accelerate the implementation of globally agreed programs to get back on track by sharing useful lessons and innovative ideas to solve problems and disasters associated with water.
The discussion covered the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world, the damage caused by water-related disasters and the pandemic, and various solutions being taken to deal with water-related disasters and COVID-19.
The discussion focused on synchronizing the results of the session with previous and future key international water events such as the Bonn Conference, the 9th World Water Forum, the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit and the 2022 Dushanbe Water Process in order to propose and disseminate common ideas at the UN 2023 Water Conference.
The panel was also attended by Dr. Han Seung-soo, Chairman of HELP, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Dr. Firdaus Ali, Senior Advisor for Water Resources, Ministry of Public Works and Housing of the Republic of Indonesia, Vice President of the Asian Water Council, Mr. – Ms. Neeta Pokhrel – Team Leader, Water Sector, Asian Development Bank and other prominent experts from the Asia-Pacific region.
