Dr. Abror Gafurov started the welcoming speeches, followed by the ambassadors of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in Germany, H.E. Mr. Dilshod Akhatov and H.E. Mr. Omurbek Tekebaev. Ms. Christina Wegelein, Head of Division 408, Climate and Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany, talked about the importance of climate security in Central Asia and announced the start of the 2nd phase of the Green Central Asia project. Prof. Dr. Susanne Buiter, Scientific Director of the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany, welcomed the participants of the event.
The last two speeches were given by Mr. Ovez Jumanazarov, representative of the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Germany, and Prof. Dr. Abdulhakim Salohiddinov, Vice-Rector for International Cooperation of Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Agricultural Mechanization Engineers (TIIAME)-National Research University, who closed the welcoming ceremony.
Two keynote speakers provided insights on the event's topic: Prof. Dr. Markus Disse, Chair of Hydrology and River Basin Management at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, discussed “Water-Related Research in Central Asia to Cope with Climate Change: Experience from the WE-ACT and ÖkoFlussPlan Projects,” and Prof. Dr. Petra Dobreva from the Institute for Political Science, University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany, talked about “Competition and Cooperation in Water Usage in Europe: Learnings from Good and Bad Practices.”
The next session featured talks from the Green Central Asia project partners and Ms. Danara Alimbayeva, Director General of the National Hydrometeorological Service of Kazakhstan (RSE Kazhydromet). Please see the full list of speakers.
TWSL 7 concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Birgit Wetzel, a freelance journalist from Berlin, where representatives from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan shared insights into the noticeable effects of climate change in their countries, the measures already in place to mitigate these effects, and their future plans to combat and adapt to climate changes.
The event was also streamed online with Russian-English translation, attracting around 90 participants.
You can find the program for the 7th TWSL here