The workshop of the Executive Committee of IFAS for representatives in international and donor organizations devoted to the development of Third Aral Sea Basin Programme  (ASBP-3) took place in Almaty on 17 March 2010. It brought together the national representatives of Central Asian countries in the Executive Committee of IFAS, representatives of international organizations (European Commission, UNDP Europe and CIS, UN Economic Commission for Europe) and donors (Swiss Development Cooperation, World Bank, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ)), as well as experts provided by the European Commission. The meting was organized by the Executive Committee of IFAS and facilitated by UNECE in the framework of the Project «Regional Dialogue and Cooperation on Water Resources Management in Central Asia».

The Executive Committee of IFAS informed the participants on the consultations that had taken place in the countries of Central Asia to discuss the development of ASBP-3 and the Discussion Paper "Strengthening the Institutional and Legal Frameworks of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea: Review and Proposals". Donor representatives stressed the importance of the work on institutional and legal strengthening of regional cooperation, along with the development of ASBP-3. Also, the donors highlighted the need for a stable institutional mechanism for development and implementation of ASBP-3 as well as the need for a clear vision by the Executive Committee of IFAS on this issue. The donors stressed their openness to cooperation and highlighted possible areas for funding. Participants also discussed preparatory steps to the Donors’ Coordination Meeting in May 2010.