Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon yesterday participated and spoke at a high-level event that was organized and hosted by Tajikistan in Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, on the implementation of the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly declaring 2025 as the "International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation".

The Tajik president’s official website says Emomali Rahmon considered the holding of this event an important step in the process of implementing the UN resolution and emphasized that its main goal is to prevent the further melting of glaciers and preserve their ecological systems.

He reportedly noted that under the influence of climate change, glaciers, which generally account for 75 percent of the main fresh water resources, are rapidly shrinking.  Therefore, to solve this important global issue, it was considered necessary to take immediate and joint actions of the international community.

Emomali Rahmon stated that considering the importance of this issue, the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on declaring 2025 as the "International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation" was adopted at the initiative of Tajikistan and the support of the international community.  On the basis of this resolution, the International Trust Fund for the Preservation of Glaciers was established under the auspices of the United Nations.

The Tajik leader proposed to expand multilateral cooperation and exchange of experience and knowledge between countries with glacier resources and coastal countries in order to take immediate practical measures for the preservation of glaciers.

According to him, this issue can play an effective role in the process of addressing water shortage and sea level rise.  At the same time, the attraction of global financial resources for this purpose, including the Special Fund for preservation of glaciers, was considered important.

It was deemed necessary for the Green Climate Fund to prioritize support for vulnerable countries, especially the Landlocked Developing Countries Group, which are most affected by climate change.

Moreover, Emomali Rahmon proposed to establish a Regional Coordination Center for Glaciology in Dushanbe, under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization and in cooperation with other development partners, in order to accurately study the impact of climate change on the region's glaciers.