Antalya, 10 November 2026. As part of the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31), a thematic session was held on the project aimed at strengthening Turkmenistan’s capacity in climate transparency and implementing the Enhanced Transparency Framework under the Paris Agreement.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the Scientific-Information Center of the Interstate Commission for Sustainable Development (SIC ICSD), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organized the session.
The event was attended by the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rashid Meredov. Other distinguished participants included the Minister of Environmental Protection, the Chairman of the State Committee for Water Management, the Minister of Agriculture of Turkmenistan, as well as heads and representatives of other relevant ministries and government agencies.
Representatives of ministries and government agencies from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan also took part in the session. Discussions focused on the development of national systems for collecting and analyzing climate data, the introduction of modern monitoring tools, and the preparation of climate reports. Particular attention was given to Turkmenistan’s initiative to establish a Regional Centre for Climate Technologies for Central Asia.
The Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) was represented by Mergen Kepbanov, Director of the CAREC Project Office in Turkmenistan. On the sidelines of COP31, he held a meeting with Nabil Gangi, Deputy FAO Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, at the FAO Pavilion. He also met with Alexey Borisov, a representative of the Russian Association for UN Assistance, at the Russian Federation Pavilion.
Mergen Kepbanov will continue his participation in COP31 in Antalya and attend other side events organized by CAREC as part of the conference.
Additional information:
Mergen Kepbanov – Director of the CAREC Project office in Turkmenistan, turkemenistan@carececo.org