AKIPRESS.COM - The 21st session of the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC 21) to the UNCCD kicked off at the Silk Road Samarkand Congress Center in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on November 13, UzA reported.

It is attended by delegates from 196 countries, about 500 representatives of the European Union, civil societies, and academia.

The Chairperson of the Parliament's Senate of Uzbekistan Tanzila Narbayeva read out the address from President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the event participants during the plenary session.

As noted in the address, Uzbekistan and the entire Central Asian region are fully aware of the negative consequences of climate change in the form of social and environmental problems.

"Today, we are almost alone fighting the devastating consequences of the global catastrophe of the Aral Sea. All these threats and many other factors directly affect the well-being and health of the population not only in our region, but throughout the world, which requires even greater consolidation and strengthening of partnerships to achieve the key Sustainable Development Goals. I count on the strong support of the international expert community for Uzbekistan's initiative to adopt the Samarkand Declaration on Sand and Dust Storms following the current session," said Shavkat Mirziyoyev in his welcoming address.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres also sent a message to the forum participants. It was read out by the UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UNCCD Ibrahim Thiaw.

UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UNCCD Ibrahim Thiaw, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change of Uzbekistan Aziz Abdukhakimov, and representatives of various regions addressed the plenary session.