Dushanbe hosted the Fifth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia and the regular meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS).

The agenda of the Consultative Meeting made it possible to discuss important issues of strengthening regional collaboration, developing industrial cooperation, transport connectivity, ensuring energy security, and overcoming food security problems.

The main result of the summit was the adoption of the Joint Statement of the Heads of State of Central Asia.

Addressing the meeting participants, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, among important initiatives, proposed the development of joint measures to create conditions for barrier-free movement of essential food products, as well as seeds, fertilizers, and chemicals.

The head of Uzbekistan also identified vulnerabilities in ensuring food security in the Central Asian region. These are insufficient scientific and technological development of the agricultural sector, acute shortage of water resources, ineffective value chains, instability in the climate crisis and logistics failures, and issues of healthy nutrition.

This initiative is also consistent with the vision of UN Secretary-General António Guterres that many of the world’s food systems need transformation.

In this regard, as well as against the backdrop of growing problems in global food security, in September 2021, the Head of the UN initiated the convening and holding of the Food Systems Summit in New York, which became the most relevant and timely central forum for developing optimal solutions to ensure essential food products amid recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

It is worth noting the positive results of the International Conference on Food Security held on September 7-8 this year in Samarkand, the participants of which especially emphasized the complex relationship between water resources and food production.

It was also noted that sustainable water management practices are critical to ensuring a safe and sustainable food supply.

The adopted final declaration emphasized the importance of joint actions by countries and international and regional organizations to ensure food security amid numerous uncertainties and problems.

The need to create unhindered access to fertilizers, their use for sustainable agricultural production, and ensure global food security and nutrition, especially in developing countries, was noted.

Concern was expressed about the increasing uncertainty regarding the prospects for trade in agricultural products. This uncertainty is caused by slowing economic growth and the impact of trade restrictions and barriers on global food security, especially in developing countries.

In this regard, the President of Uzbekistan stated the importance of uniting efforts and preparing, with the support of FAO, a regional partnership program in this sphere.

This program will undoubtedly be vital to meeting the needs of the regional market and will expand the ability to export food products to other countries.

Z. Nurmatov,

Head of the Economic Research Department at IICA