Uzbekistan Meets UNEP To Advance Regional Climate Protection

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 4. Uzbekistan held talks with Inger Andersen, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), on the sidelines of the Eighth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), focusing on expanding regional cooperation on climate and environmental protection, Trend reports via the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change.

The meeting brought together Aziz Abdukhakimov, adviser to the President of Uzbekistan and chairman of the National Committee on Ecology and Climate Change, Erlan Nysanbayev, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan, Bahodur Sheralizoda, head of Tajikistan's Environmental Protection Committee, as well as representatives from Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.

Discussions centered on strengthening environmental cooperation across Central Asia and deepening engagement with UNEP. Participants noted that environmental and climate issues have gained unprecedented political attention in the region in recent years, highlighted by initiatives such as the Samarkand Climate Forum 2025 and the Regional Environmental Summit in Astana.

A key topic of the talks was air quality improvement and the development of a regional clean air coalition. The sides explored a joint initiative with UNEP to reduce the impact of sand and dust storms on public health and urban environments. Officials said the project could evolve into a comprehensive regional program featuring air quality monitoring systems, data sharing mechanisms, and coordinated efforts to reduce transboundary pollution.

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