Kazakhstan and France sign cooperation agreement to preserve Lake Balkhash
Kazakh Water Resources and Irrigation Ministry, French Development Agency (AFD) and BRGM, the French geological survey, inked a tripartite agreement on cooperation on the sidelines of the One Water Summit, Kazinform News Agency learnt from the Ministry’s press service.
The One Water Summit kicked off in Saudi Arabia with the participation of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of France Emmanuel Macron.
The agreement signed aims at developing cooperation in the preservation of Lake Balkhash.
1st Vice Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan Bolat Bekniyaz signed the agreement on behalf of Kazakhstan.
The agreement provides for granting the Kazakh Water Resources and Irrigation Ministry a loan of up to 1.35 million euros for the Lake Balkhash water resources management development.
France will carry out large-scale studies of the Lake Balkhash basin. A long-term general plan until 2040 based on the results of the studies will be developed to outline measures to preserve the lake’s inland waters.
Besides, the ministry and BRGM signed a memorandum of mutual understanding in the field of water resources.
The tripartite agreement between the Kazakh ministry, ADF and BRGM is aimed at exploring and sustainable management of waters in the Lake Balkhash basin. One of the goals of the project is to optimize the work of the Kapchagai water reservoir to stabilize the Lake Balkhash level.
As earlier reported, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addressed the opening of the One Water Summit underway in Saudi Arabia.
