Leaders of Central Asian countries — Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan — will visit Astana on April 22 to take part in a meeting of the Council of Heads of State, the founders of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). The date of the meeting was announced by Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov during a meeting with the board members of the fund in the Kazakh capital, which was also attended by Turkmenistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Tangryguly Atahallyyev. The parties discussed prospects for regional cooperation in the water sector, ways to increase the fund’s operational efficiency, and preparations for the upcoming summit. Special attention was given to digitalization of water accounting: participants agreed on the implementation of a unified automated system for monitoring and distributing water resources in the Syrderýa and Amyderýa river basins. The meeting also addressed improvements to the organizational structure and legal framework of IFAS in order to enhance coordination among the fund’s institutions and ensure more effective implementation of adopted decisions. Source: Press Service of the Government of Kazakhstan