The Secretary General of the Organization of Turkic States H.E. Ambassador Kubanychbek Omuraliev met with the Hungarian Members of the Board and Stakeholders of the OTS Drought Prevention Institute – Ambassador Prof. István Vásáry, Executive Director of the OTS Representation Office in Hungary, Mr. David Horvath, Head of the Department for Water Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary, Mr. Gábor Jenei, CEO of Hungarian Export Promotion Agency, Dr. László Örlős, Head of Office of International Affairs of HEPA and approved by Board asOperational Director of DPI, Dr. Gergő Péter Kovács, Deputy Director of the Institute of Agronomy of Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, approved by Board as External Professional Representative of DPI, and Mr. Dávid Békési, Executive Director of the Directorate for International Relations of MATE.

OTS Secretary General underscored that drought, water scarcity, climate change and their impact on agriculture, food security and land degradation have become serious challenges for OTS states and many other countries. In this context, he called for that the DPI will make a real contribution to the solution of these problems. He also emphasized the importance of organizing Regional Water Forum of the OTS countries in Budapest with inviting EU Institutes and International Organizations.

The participants exchanged opinions on the issues of ensuring rapid commencement of the DPI’s full operations and considered the next steps to be taken in connection with the proposals submitted by Kyrgyz and Turkish sides. They have also agreed that it is important to identify the key issues for the most urgent actions in order to make the Institute operational. In this regard, a number of legal, technical, infrastructural and staffing aspects were discussed. 

Special attention was paid to attracting international and donor organizations, international financial institutions for implementation of the projects within DPI.