"THE ARAL SEA TRAGEDY DEMANDS URGENT ACTION BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY"

Participation of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the UN summit on sustainable development goals, which has been held recently in New York, excited a wide resonance in the Chinese expert circles.

Yang Bo, Deputy director of the Center for the Study of Central Asia at the Shanghai University of International Studies:

— The report of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov on the last UN summit provided important information on the current development of the republic. It also clearly indicated a global problem requiring urgent action by the international community, such as the Aral Sea tragedy.

Indeed, the scale of the environmental disaster has long gone beyond one country or region. She has found the world and can be solved only by joint efforts of the international community. So important are the development and implementation of specific measures to mitigate the effects of the crisis.

Earlier, in 2013, the UN General Assembly has already approved as an official document proposed by Uzbekistan "Program of measures to eliminate the consequences of the drying of the Aral Sea ecosystem and prevent disasters in the Aral Sea region". During the Summit on Sustainable Development of the Republic took the initiative to create under the auspices of the UN Special Trust Fund for the Aral Sea and the Aral Sea area, indicating that the country’s commitment to the speedy solution of environmental problems.

Danhua Zhang, Deputy director of the Research Institute for Public Diplomacy of the SCO at Shanghai University:

— Uzbekistan cooperates effectively with the UN, with particular emphasis on the implementation of commitments in the framework of this global structure. At the September summit in New York, the world acquainted with achieving the country’s Millennium Development Goals, and expressed support for its plans for the future in the context of sustainable development, designed for 2016-2030.

As an expert, which tracks developments in Central Asia, is delighted by the fact that Uzbekistan ranked fifth among countries with rapidly growing economies. Moreover in the last 10 years, despite the ongoing global economic crisis, the country shows a steady GDP growth of over 8%. This is a logical result of the country’s deeply thought-out strategy for socio-economic progress.

Jahon Information Agency, Shanghai