A scientific and educational seminar on joint water use in Central Asia

On December 1 and 2, 2017 the University of World Economy and Diplomacy held a scientific and educational seminar on joint water use in Central Asia as part of the launch of the project "Water diplomacy and negotiations on transboundary rivers" of the Laboratory of Negotiations of the UWED.

The seminar was opened by the representative of the Ecological Movement of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the deputy of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, Jakbarov Sodirjon, and the project manager of the CAREC Representative Office in Uzbekistan, Yusupbek Kazbekov. Professor of the UWED, Alisher Faizullayev, spoke at the seminar with an expert report on negotiating aspects of transboundary water problems. He noted that in preparing for the talks it is important to take into account the history of the problem, the culture of peoples, as well as the human factor. Ulugbek Islomov, UNDP Representative, presented a report on "Improving technical capacity in the water sector - a key factor in ensuring sustainable development of water resources". Associate Professor of the Department of World Economy and International Economic Relations, Suria Turiaeva, spoke about the ecological aspect of the solution of water issues, as well as the importance of introducing such a discipline as "ecological diplomacy". Teacher of the International Relations Department, Nozima Davletova, noted the need to develop water diplomacy and joint production of knowledge aimed at solving water problems. During the seminar, international experience was mentioned, in particular, Israel, Indonesia, Japan and the United Kingdom in the field of solving problems of water shortage and pollution. During the discussion, experts and students drew attention to the psychological aspect, in particular, the consciousness of people, which is an important factor for the settlement of water issues.

The second day is devoted to the simulation game of international negotiations among students and masters of the UWED on the joint use of transboundary rivers. As a result of the event, a collection of scientific articles on water and environmental diplomacy, negotiation processes on transboundary rivers will be published.