Foreign Minister of Kyrgyzstan Jeenbek Kulubayev and Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov signed several documents, including an agreement on the joint management of the Kempir-Abad (Andijan) reservoir, following Thursday's meeting in Bishkek. This was reported by the press service of the Kyrgyzstan's MFA.
"On November 3, 2022, at the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan Jeenbek Kulubaev an official visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Vladimir Norov took place. Following the talks, the parties signed an agreement on certain sections of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek state border, an agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on the joint management of water resources of the Kempir-Abad reservoir," the statement said.
In addition, an agreement on cooperation between the Water Resources Service under the Ministry of Agriculture of Kyrgyzstan and the Ministry of Water Resources of Uzbekistan, a memorandum of cooperation between the Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Digital Development and the Uzarkhiv Agency, and a program of cooperation between the foreign ministries of the two countries for 2023-2024 were signed.
According to the press service, the ministers paid special attention to preparations for the upcoming state visit of the president of Uzbekistan to Bishkek. "The ministers agreed to intensify the elaboration of the substantive part of the visit with an emphasis on the promotion of trade and economic cooperation and implementation of major investment projects," the press service said.
On October 6, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov informed that the Kyrgyz and Uzbek authorities would establish a joint venture for managing the Kempir-Abad water reservoir. He stressed that an agreement was reached to lower the water level from 908 to 900, and the 1,200 hectares of land on the banks of the reservoir, free of water, would be given to Kyrgyzstan and used for agriculture.
The total length of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border is about 1,380 kilometers. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, several disputed sections remained. There have been periodic conflicts over them, including with the use of weapons. In 2017, the parties actively began the process of delimitation and demarcation.
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Based on materials from TASS