Azerbaijan calls for a summit on the Caspian Sea’s shrinkage

Azerbaijan has put forward a proposal to convene a summit focused on the ongoing shrinkage of the Caspian Sea. All five Caspian littoral states had been invited to take part in the consultations, stated Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijani President's Representative for Climate issues.

According to him, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established a working group to prepare the summit’s agenda and determine an appropriate timeline. 

“We are currently engaged in discussions with representatives from Kazakhstan and international organizations to develop a coordinated strategy for mitigating the impacts of this critical issue,” Babayev added.

He also highlighted the close cooperation between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in addressing shared environmental challenges, including active collaboration under the Tehran Convention on the Conservation of Biodiversity in the Caspian Sea.

Babayev noted that both the scientific and practical aspects of environmental concerns are being addressed through the Tehran Convention, with particular focus on the alarming decline in Caspian Sea water levels.

“We have already witnessed the consequences of environmental disasters, such as those that affected Lake Urmia in Iran and the Aral Sea between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Now, a similar threat looms over the Caspian Sea. These developments have led to internal migration, with people leaving the coastal regions around both Urmia and the Aral Sea. As a result, a serious social problem is emerging for the entire region. Therefore, we must work together to develop effective measures to mitigate these threats,” - he warned and highlighted that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) provides a significant support with this regard.

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