President Emomali Rakhmonov

To the people of the world,

Tajikistan is a country of high mountains; a thousand lakes; rapid rivers; magnificent waterfalls; unique hydropower stations, and manmade reservoirs.

Tajikistan is a country of poets, a country with a deep-rooted multi-century history as an ancient people who possess water - a priceless asset.

The Republic of Tajikistan is the source of freshwater for most of Central Asia and possesses more than sixty per cent of the water resources in the region.

Despite a large number of rivers, lakes, and glaciers within the territory of Tajikistan, we experience difficulties with drinking water supply.

One should not forget that freshwater, like oil and gas, is also a national asset and, for this reason, deserves special treat-ment. But it is quite understandable: in such an area of vital importance as the water sector, no one can deal single-handedly with the emerging multi-faceted challenges and risks.

The Republic of Tajikistan, as an equal member of the international community, could not remain indifferent to the global problem of water shortage. Therefore, we realized that the time had come for the international community to give serious thought to this issue.

This was the main incentive for the Republic of Tajikistan to initiate the International Year of Freshwater, 2003, and the International Decade of Action “Water for Life”, 2005-2015. The Tajikistan water initiatives were supported by 148 UN member states, which was followed by the General Assembly adopting special resolutions on water.

Today, addressing the water issue has become a strategic goal and objective for the international community, the achievement of which will benefit people the world over.

The Tajik people say: “Water means life”. This statement has a profound meaning to us, having emanated from experience gained by the Tajik people in the course of their multi-century history. The Tajik people regard water as a holy substance, along with soil, air and fire, which constitutes the basics of human life.

We value water as much as we value life itself.