The presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Sadyr Zhaparov and Emomali Rahmon, plan to sign a border agreement during an upcoming meeting in Bishkek. This was announced by Muratbek Azymbakiev, head of the foreign policy department of the Kyrgyz presidential administration.
“A joint statement by President Sadyr Zhaparov of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, and President Emomali Rahmon of the Republic of Tajikistan is expected, along with the signing of a treaty on the state border between the two countries and other bilateral agreements,” Azymbakiev told reporters, commenting on Rahmon’s state visit to Bishkek on March 12-13.
During his visit, President Rahmon is also scheduled to meet with the speaker of the Kyrgyz parliament, Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu, and the chairman of the Kyrgyz Cabinet of Ministers, Adylbek Kasymaliyev.
A History of Border Disputes
On February 21, the head of Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (SCNS) and Deputy Prime Minister Kamchybek Tashiev, along with the head of Tajikistan’s SCNS, Saimumin Yatimov, signed a protocol in Bishkek regarding the delimitation of a shared section of the border.
According to Kyrgyz authorities, both sides agreed to an equal exchange of disputed territories.
The border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan stretches approximately 980 kilometers. Negotiations on its delimitation—defining the official border with precise mapping—have been ongoing since December 2002. The lack of a clearly defined border has repeatedly led to conflicts involving both local residents and military personnel, sometimes escalating into armed clashes. The most recent major incident occurred in early autumn 2022. Since 2014, more than ten serious conflicts have erupted along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border.
Kyrgyzstan shares borders with China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Until now, Tajikistan was the last neighboring country with which Kyrgyzstan had yet to fully resolve its border disputes.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Based on materials from TASS