A two-week training course "Caspian Sea - Sustainable Development and Management" started in Ashgabat on July 14. It was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the oil and gas complex and the Caspian Sea Institute of Turkmenistan with the assistance of the International Ocean Institute (IOI). This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan (https://www.mfa.gov.tm/ru/news/5400).
The participants were specialists from Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Russia - environmentalists, diplomats, lawyers, border guards, representatives of the oil and fishing industries, transport and hydrometeorological sectors.
Welcoming speeches were given by IIO Managing Director Antonella Vassallo, UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Dmitry Shlapachenko, Course Director Parvin Farshchi, and IIO Honorary President Avni Behnam (via video link).
Participants noted the progress in the Caspian dialogue and the role of Turkmenistan in promoting sustainable development ideas in the region.
The program includes an intensive module on marine spatial planning, as well as, for the first time, a special workshop on the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction.
The course in Ashgabat is becoming an important regional platform for professional exchange and coordination of actions to protect the Caspian Sea.
