Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 14 September, a delegation led by the Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbaeva took part in an extraordinary meeting of the Dialogue of Women Leaders of Central Asian Countries on the topic: “Achieving gender equality in the context of adaptation to climate change in Central Asia.” Asia”, which took place in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

It should be noted that the event was organized within the framework of the regular, fifth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia.

The Dialogue of Women Leaders of Central Asia, which is an informal regional platform, was founded in December 2020 at the initiative of Uzbekistan. In 2021, the Dialogue was chaired by our country.

The event was attended by the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, the Deputy Speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh of Kyrgyzstan, deputies of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, heads of government bodies, international organizations and civil society institutions, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps. The head of the Executive Structure of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN Security Council and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General Natalya German made a video message.

At the meeting, discussions focused on the creation of a platform to ensure the achievement of gender equality and constructive development in the future to empower women and girls in the face of climate change, as well as the development of strategies and programs to effectively address pressing issues. The parties exchanged opinions, information and experience.

In her speech, the Chairman of the Senate Tanzila Narbaeva noted that currently Central Asia is experiencing the negative impact of global climate change more than many other regions of the world. In turn, this increases the shortage of water resources and accelerates the processes of melting glaciers and desertification.

The drying up of the Aral Sea and the formation of the Aralkum salt desert on the dried bottom caused a complex of environmental and socio-economic problems in the region. It is for this reason that the UN General Assembly recognized the Aral disaster as a global environmental problem of our time.

Tanzila Narbaeva also focused on the activities of the Dialogue of Women Leaders of Central Asia. “This structure has become a timely platform for developing popular proposals to ensure gender equality, including in the context of combating the negative consequences of climate change. In a short period of time, the Dialogue was recognized and fully supported, first of all, by the heads of state, the UN and its specialized agencies, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the SCO, the CIS and other international organizations.”

In terms of the work of the Dialogue, an initiative was put forward to study the problems of our region related to the environment and develop specific proposals and recommendations for solving them, taking into account gender aspects. It was also proposed to more widely promote the gender agenda in a multilateral format in order to eliminate environmental risks, attracting investments from international financial institutions.

The forum continued its work in the form of panel sessions. During them, discussions were organized on the topics “Achieving gender equality in the context of adaptation to climate change and natural disasters in Central Asia” and “Environmental initiatives of Central Asia in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.”