Azerbaijan's experiences in the water field were discussed at the UN conference

On March 22-24, 2023, the world's countries gathered at the United Nations (UN) Conference on Water Issues in New York, USA. The purpose of the event held at the UN headquarters was to eliminate the water crisis in the world, to discuss the issues that the world's countries are responsible for, and to draw everyone's attention to this issue.

Within the framework of the conference, a unique parallel session on Azerbaijan's experiences in this field was held. At the event, a discussion of the country's expertise in water sector reforms, involvement of stakeholders and innovations to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was held in Azerbaijan through various measures. Within the framework of the conference, a bilateral meeting was held between Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Qu Dongyu, Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and Daniels Ugochi, Deputy Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). During the meeting, issues of forest protection, protection of biological diversity, effective management of water resources and Azerbaijan's activities in this context were discussed.

During the bilateral meetings, views were also exchanged on reducing water resources, efficient management, the fight against global climate change, the importance of early warning and modern observation systems, and possibilities of future cooperation with Azerbaijan discussed.

The organization of the Azerbaijan office of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the coordination of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the organization of the International Organization for Migration, the Azerbaijan Reclamation Scientific Research Institute, and the Arizona State University of the United States gave an opening speech. Minister of Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev informed about the work done in Azerbaijan related to the Sustainable Development Goals and emphasized the importance of global cooperation in achieving these goals.

"Environmental protection and addressing climate change" is one of the priority areas defined in the "UN-Azerbaijan Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2021-2025" document. This framework document pays special attention to the 6th SDG goal, "Clean water and sanitation". In 2023, the annual high-level strategic consultations between Azerbaijan and the UN country team on developing priorities and opportunities for enhanced cooperation and partnership were held in Agdam City. One of the main topics of discussion at the conference was the experience of Azerbaijan's national water policy to ensure efficient management of water resources and prevent water shortages by the 2030 Agenda," Mukhtar Babayev said in his speech.

Yashar Aliyev, Permanent Representative of Azerbaijan to the UN; Lifeng Li, director of FAO's Soil and Water Division; Manuel Marquez Pereira, head of the Migration, Environment and Protection Department of the International Organization for Migration; Huseyin, secretary of the National Coordinating Council for Sustainable Development of Azerbaijan, spoke at the session. Huseynov, Mir Movsum Dadashev, director of the Azerbaijan Reclamation Scientific Research Institute, and Olcay Unvar, professor of Arizona State University, emphasized the importance of issues such as the current state of water resources in the world and Azerbaijan, effective management, and the impact of global climate change on water resources.

It should be noted that the seminar was organized by FAO and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture within the framework of the "Improved water management in Azerbaijan: Towards Sustainable Development of Agriculture" project.

You can watch the video recording of the event here, and you can click here to get acquainted with the information about the event's agenda.