A summit meeting with the participation of the official delegations has begun in the Congress Center in the Avaza National Tourist Zone (where the Summit of the Heads of IFAS Founding Member-States is well underway) after the top-level meeting. President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed his gratitude to the Presidents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan for the accepted invitation to attend the IFAS Member-States Summit. The head of Turkmenistan noted the importance of the Summit that demonstrates the unity of the Central Asian countries and consolidation of their combined efforts to tackle topical issues in the region. This is of particular significance now when our countries are implementing a series of political and diplomatic measures to enhance cooperation among the Central Asian states. In this context, the Summit will mark another crucial stage in closer partnership across a broad spectrum of areas, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov highlighted, speaking at the forum. The International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea has become a platform for interstate collaboration in the reduction of ecological, socio-economic and humanitarian impacts of the Aral Sea tragedy. As time goes by, the Aral Sea problem requires new approaches that are consonant with the spirit of the times, the Turkmen leader said. Turkmenistan took this into account, having assumed the chairmanship of the IFAS for 2017-2019. A concept of the Aral Sea Basin Program (ASBP-4), a program of action for rendering assistance to the countries of the Aral Sea basin, has been developed under Turkmenistan’s Chairmanship of the IFAS. Today, the Fund is taking steps to improve the Regional Environmental Action Plan for Central Asia. Responsible for the coordination of IFAS activities, Turkmenistan is making efforts to accelerate the accession of the region’s countries to the Framework Convention on Environmental Protection for Sustainable Development in Central Asia.