Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the situation in Central Asia with regard to the sharing of water resources in that region.

Over the past year, Uzbek President Mirziyoev has discussed water and energy issues with his counterparts in Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. We expect Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to present a resolution for the 73rd UNGA session on UN co-operation with the International Fund for the Aral Sea, on which they have worked closely with Kyrgyzstan. On 15 March Heads of State of Central Asia met in Astana and discussed the sharing of water resources. The UK has encouraged efforts to improve regional relations, including on water sharing. In November last year, UK senior officials attended a conference under UN auspices in Samarkand addressing regional water and security issues. The UK supports the World Bank's work to improve energy and water use in the region through the Central Asia Energy Water Development Programme (CAEWDP) and contributed £3.2 million to the CAEWDP multi-donor trust fund between 2011 and 2017.