DUSHANBE, October 9, Asia-Plus - An Interstate Council of the Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC) that meets in Moscow on October 27 will consider a draft concept of efficient use of water and energy resources in Central Asia.

A source in the government said the meeting at the level of prime ministers in Moscow will consider the water policy in the region in the context of development of hydropower in basins of the Syrdarya and Amudarya rivers as well as integration processes within the Community.  

The EAEC prime-ministers’ meeting will be preceded by the second session of an expert  group for working out a concerted mechanism of regulating the water and energy resources in the basins of Syrdarya and Amudarya rivers.   

We will recall that heads of state from the Central Asian region considered the possibility of setting up an international consortium to manage energy and water resources in the region at the informal summit in Astana in early September.  The idea to set up the consortium to ensure the rivers in the region are used effectively and the interests of all the Central Asian countries are observed was put forward by Russia.  The initiative received a boost at the August 15-16 summit of the Community.  Eurasian Development Bank, set up by Russia and Kazakhstan in January 2006, could finance the project.