During a working visit to Astana, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov attended a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). The summit took place at the Akorda Palace, where the Turkmen leader was met by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reported.

Following a joint photo ceremony for the delegation leaders, the Council met. Opening the meeting, Tokayev emphasized that the environmental well-being of the Aral Sea region directly impacts the food and energy security of the Fund's founding states.

Speaking at the summit, Serdar Berdimuhamedov called for preserving and strengthening international partnership mechanisms in the region. "I am convinced that our primary goal is to prevent the tasks vital to our people from being relegated to the background," he stated.

"Saving the Aral Sea, its future, and the fate of the people living in its basin is a matter of honor and our political and moral responsibility. At the same time, it is a shared responsibility to mobilize and utilize economic, financial, and organizational resources, as well as the diplomatic efforts of our countries and international partners, to address pressing environmental, social, and humanitarian issues," added the President of Turkmenistan.

Following the meeting, Serdar Berdimuhamedov congratulated President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on assuming his chairmanship of the IFAS and wished him success in his upcoming work.