On March 26, 2021, in the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Agency (NRSA) conference hall an official meeting was organized with the representatives of the OSCE Program Office in Bishkek, UNDP Tajikistan, NRSA NAST, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of Tajikistan, and other parties directly involved in the implementation of the project. The major item on the agenda was the discussion of the annual work plan on “Stakeholders engagement for uranium legacy remediation in Central Asia”. Within the framework of the project, in accordance with the IAEA strategic plan, Istiklol city, jamoat Gozien, B. Gafurovsky district, which are located in the Soghd region are the main target areas where remediation work will be carried out.

Key issues during the discussion were the review of main planned activities to be conducted during project implementation.

During the discussion, Dmitry Prudskikh, the representative of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek comprehensively presented the working plan, which had been drawn up in cooperation with the representatives of NRSA, local authorities of Istiklol city, jamoat Gozien, and the Aarhus Center, which is a direct partner of this project. The work plan had been drafted based on three components, which include:

1. Increase public awareness and outreach at local and national levels on radiation safety. The responsible parties at this stage are the state regulatory body - Nuclear and Radiation Safety Agency and the Branch in Khujand. At this stage, training will be held with representatives of local authorities, interested parties, as well as the public on awareness of radiation safety issues, as well as the production and dissemination of visual information materials on radiation safety.
2. Reinforced implementation of the legal and regulatory framework through community engagement in the safe governance of legacy sites.  At this stage, the Aarhus Center in Khujand is the responsible partner. This component includes support of youth movement activities aimed to improve the environment and environmental management by distributing information materials, installing environmental stands, new warning signs, involving the population in decision-making processes related to environmental safety, etc.
3. A regional component that includes country cooperation and exchange of knowledge. This phase encompasses the exchange of information and best practices, conducting of study tours for stakeholders to exchange experience in the restoration of former uranium heritage sites.

As a result of the meeting, a work plan was sent to all representatives for further approval. At the end of the meeting, each of the representatives expressed the hope that the implementation of this project will bring fruitful results and will improve the environmental situation for the population living in this territory. Based on the plans, the project is supposed to be completed by the end of 2021.