The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Turkmenistan and the project office of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) in Turkmenistan intend to develop cooperation.

To this end, a meeting with the Director of the CAREC Project Office, Mergen Kepbanov, was held at the EBRD office in Ashgabat on 22 July. The EBRD was represented at the meeting by Eric Livny, Head of the EBRD Resident Office in Turkmenistan, Anna Kresic, Head of Regional Policy for Central Asia and Mongolia, Nurgul Esenamanova, Head of Regional Policy and Strategy at the EBRD Resident Mission in Bishkek, Aida Rysbekova, Analyst in the Economics Department, and Benjamin Peel, Principal Climate and Environmental Specialist at the EBRD.

During the meeting, the parties considered the possibility of further cooperation, as reported on the CAREC website.

The EBRD representatives expressed interest in studying the priorities and expert potential of CAREC, as well as in identifying possible areas for further cooperation.

Mergen Kepbanov, for his part, proposed considering the possibility of cooperation in the field of waste management, noting that this is one of the priority areas in Turkmenistan. The country has the Law of Turkmenistan "On Waste" from 2015, and by-laws have been adopted to it. It was also emphasized that Turkmenistan welcomes international initiatives aimed at improving waste management systems, and the implementation of a joint project with the EBRD in this area would be timely and relevant.

Other aspects of CAREC’s activities were also mentioned, such as: implementation of the Central Asian Leadership Programme on Environment for Sustainable Development (CALE), the regional component of the “One Health” programme, cooperation with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) within the framework of the Blue Peace initiative, as well as CAREC’s participation in coordinating the Regional Working Group on Education for Inclusive Energy Transition (RTEET).

In addition, the project on reducing methane emissions in the oil and gas sector (CA CBMER) was highlighted, as well as the project on climate risk management, which aims to strengthen regional cooperation and develop knowledge in this area.

At the end of the meeting, the parties expressed their readiness for further constructive cooperation. The EBRD representatives confirmed their interest in active cooperation with the CAREC project office in Turkmenistan, especially on environmental protection and sustainable development issues, the source notes.