Extensive national consultations have taken place in all Central Asian States in February – March 2010 to discuss the opportunities for strengthening the institutional and legal frameworks for water cooperation in Central Asia as well as to discuss the approaches and modalities for developing the Aral Sea Basin Programme -3.

National consultations with participation of the leadership of the Executive Committee of IFAS and representatives of UNECE and GTZ were organized by the representatives of Member States in the Executive Committee of IFAS and attended by high-level governmental officials from the ministries and agencies responsible for foreign affairs, economy, energy, water, environment, agriculture, transport, emergencies, as well as regional organizations and other stakeholders.

Two background documents were disseminated ahead of the national consultations to facilitate substantive discussion: the Framework Document on the Development of the Third Aral Sea Basin Programme, developed by representatives of Member States in the Executive Committee of IFAS, and the Discussion Paper “Strengthening the Institutional and Legal Frameworks of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea: Review and Proposals”, developed by international consultants. These documents were largely commented by governments and representatives of regional organizations during national consultations. Comments and positions of the governments will serve as a starting point for discussions at the second meeting of the Working Group on Institutional and Legal Strengthening and the Development of Aral Sea Basin Programme - 3, scheduled to take place in Almaty, Kazakhstan, 20-21 April 2010.