AKIPRESS.COM - An OSCE-supported workshop for the Kazakhstan-Russia experts’ commission meeting on the joint use and protection of trans-boundary water resources in the Ural River basin concluded on May 16 in Atyrau, Kazakhstan.

Some 30 representatives of the central and local government authorities, international organizations and a joint team of experts from Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation discussed the co-management of transboundary rivers and explored ways to implement dredging activities in the Ural River basin. Participants stressed the importance of joint capacity-building events and noted enhanced co-operation between the neighbouring countries, OSCE said.

The event was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Astana in partnership with the Agriculture Ministry, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the Water Initiatives Centre, a non-governmental organization.

The workshop is part of the Office’s multiyear efforts to raise awareness and build capacity of state institutions in the area of water governance and to contribute to the trans-boundary dialogue. These are in line with the decision of the Maastricht Ministerial Council on the OSCE Strategy Document for the Economic and Environmental Dimension, which underlines the importance of water diplomacy.