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UN chief stresses importance of water management at Tajikistan conference

Xinhua, June 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Tuesday wrapped up his visit to Tajikistan, where he attended the opening of the High-Level International Conference on the implementation of the International Decade, "Water for Life," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here.

Ban told participants that water's place in the Sustainable Development Goals, part of the post-2015 development agenda expected to be adopted in September, "go well beyond access to water, taking into account critical issues such as integrated water resources management, efficiency of use, water quality, transboundary cooperation, water-related ecosystems, and water- related disasters," said Dujarric at a daily news briefing here.

On the margins of the conference, he met with Abdullah Abdullah, the chief executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister of Pakistan.

The secretary-general congratulated Abdullah on the realization of transition processes in Afghanistan and underscored the need to implement a range of reforms, including the rule of law and electoral issues.

In his meeting with the Pakistani prime minister, the secretary- general stressed the importance of addressing the root causes on the issue of countering terrorism.

"The secretary-general and the prime minister also discussed relations among countries in the region, including Afghanistan and Central Asian countries," Dujarric said. "The secretary-general emphasized the need for improved relations between Pakistan and India."

While in Tajikistan's capital, Dushanbe, the secretary-general met with President Emomali Rahmon. In speaking to reporters afterwards, Ban said that Tajikistan and the United Nations had "a strong record of cooperation stretching back more than two decades. "

"On human rights, he underscored the UN's support for the government's continued engagement with the Organization's human rights mechanisms, particularly to address key human rights challenges in the country," the spokesman said.

"The secretary-general took part in a wreath-laying ceremony for UN staff who had lost their lives in the line of duty and visited the largest dam in Tajikistan, situated in the town of Nurek," he said. "The secretary-general is on his way now to Kazakhstan."

Tajikistan is the first stop of the secretary-general's visit to Central Asia, which will also take him to Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Endite