Excellencies, distinguished members of the Panel,
Secretary-General,
President of the World Bank,
Distinguished participants,

I would first of all like to express my appreciation for the organization of today’s meeting and invitation to participate in this Panel.

Our Panel gave a new impetus to the promoting of understanding of the role of water resources in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Plan of Action of the Panel will facilitate the solution of water related issues.

Tajikistan has made every effort at promoting an International Decade of Action “Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028” and has played a leading role in this process.

On 21 December 2016 the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus the resolution to proclaim a new Water Decade.

The main goal of the Decade is to increase awareness of water resources and its role in the global development agenda, as well as to promote the implementation of the water related SDGs. Moreover, the Decade is aimed at facilitating an adoption of joint actions towards this goal.

The explanation of the goals and targets of the Decade is provided in our Concept note on the implementation of the Decade, which was proposed within the Panel, and now we are working at its implementation.

At the national level, we adopted a Plan of action on the implementation of the Decade. We are going to establish under the Government of Tajikistan a Special Centre and Preparatory Committee for monitoring the implementation of the Decade.

Within this context, we yesterday conducted a high-level special event with participation of several delegations, the United Nations and other international organizations.

I do strongly believe that the international community will employ the opportunities provided by the Decade, which, as we hope, will ensure significant dicrease in water problems.

Distinguished participants,

As the initiator of the Decade, Tajikistan will organize, in cooperation with the United Nations and other partners, on a biannual basis, high-level events on the implementation of the Decade.

In our opinion, this will provide a platform for consideration of the urgent water issues.

The preparation and organization of a similar conference, which is scheduled for June 2018, will contribute to the implementation of the water related SDGs.

Thank you.