TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, March 13. Uzbekistan and
Kazakhstan engaged in detailed discussions on key aspects of their
bilateral cooperation concerning water resources,
Trend reports via the Kazakh Embassy in Tashkent.
The meeting was held between Uzbekistan’s Minister of Water
Management, Shavkat Khamraev, and Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to
Uzbekistan, Beybut Atamkulov. Topics included preparations for the
Regional Environmental Summit and the upcoming session of the Heads
of State of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea.
The participants commended the signing of the agreement on the
joint management and rational use of transboundary water bodies,
stressing its significance for regional cooperation. Additionally,
they underscored the importance of launching the task force on
forecasting the flows of transboundary rivers, which was
established following the second meeting of the High
Intergovernmental Council of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in November
2025.
Special emphasis was placed on Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart
Tokayev's initiative to establish an International Water
Organization under the UN, designed to coordinate the efforts of
all UN bodies working on water resource management.
Minister Shavkat Khamraev reaffirmed Uzbekistan's commitment to
participating in the Regional Environmental Summit and sessions of
the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, expressing full
support for Kazakhstan’s initiatives in these areas.
Simultaneously, Uzbekistan completed its domestic procedures for
ratifying the 2025 agreement with Kazakhstan on the joint
management and sustainable use of transboundary water bodies.
Signed on November 15, 2025, the agreement aims to bolster systemic
cooperation, improve inter-agency coordination, and enhance the
efficient use of water resources for sustainable socio-economic
development.
The formal ratification was completed through a presidential
decree issued on March 6, 2026. The effective management of
transboundary water resources, based on mutual understanding,
ongoing collaboration, and shared responsibility, positions the
Kazakh-Uzbek partnership as a model of constructive regional
cooperation.
