The task force of specialists from relevant ministries and agencies, and research institutes of Russia and Azerbaijan will study the Caspian Sea shoaling.
The decision to establish the group was taken following a meeting between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on 19 August 2024, where the parties discussed the Caspian Sea shoaling. Pursuant to the agreements reached at the top level, on 17 September 2024, the co-chairs of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexei Overchuk and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev, considered the problems associated with the Caspian Sea shoaling, options for developing future scenarios of the sea level change, and relevant adjustment measures, and agreed on setting up a bilateral working n group.
On 2 October, the parties formed a task force with Sergey Anoprienko, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, and Rauf Hajiyev, Deputy Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan as co-chairs. The group includes representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Federal Water Resources Agency of the Russian Federation, the State Water Resources Agency of Azerbaijan, as well as relevant agencies and research institutes of the two countries as its members.
In the course of their joint activity the specialists are to work out an action plan to include such measures as research into the causes of Caspian Sea level changes, short- and long-term forecasts, adaptation strategies, monitoring of water level fluctuations, joint scientific research, and other steps aimed at reducing the negative impact on the coastal areas.
