A two-week training course entitled “Caspian Sea – Sustainable Development and Management” was launched in Ashgabat today by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the oil and gas complex and the Caspian Sea Institute of Turkmenistan in cooperation with the International Ocean Institute (IOI). This was reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

The course participants include environmentalists, diplomats, border guards, oil industry specialists, hydrometeorologists, hydrographers, lawyers, economists, transport sector workers, representatives of the fishing industry and other relevant specialists whose professional activities are related to various aspects of the Caspian region, from Turkmenistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.

The opening ceremony of the course was attended by the Managing Director of the IIO Antonella Vassallo, the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan Dmitry Shlapachenko, the Director of the training course Parvin Farshchi, and the Honorary President of the IOI Avni Behnam addressed the audience via video link.

The curriculum traditionally includes an intensive module on marine spatial planning. For the first time, the course will include a special seminar on the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction.

The participants of the event noted the positive trend of the Caspian negotiation track and Turkmenistan’s great contribution to the promotion of ideas and mechanisms for sustainable development in the region, the source notes.