BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 27. Kazakhstan and
Algeria discussed prospects for expanding bilateral cooperation in
the water sector.


This was reflected in a press release published by Kazakhstan's
Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation following a meeting
between Minister Nurzhan Nurzhigitov and Algerian Ambassador to
Kazakhstan Osman Mihadji in Astana.


"The participants in the meeting noted that both countries face
similar challenges in the area of water conservation and
distribution," the press release says.


According to the ministry, the Algerian delegation expressed
interest in studying Kazakhstan's experience in the digitalization
of water resources management.


The press release outlines that Algeria proposed launching pilot
projects involving joint research by Kazakh and Algerian scientific
institutions, as well as cooperation in industrial water use,
desalination and groundwater development.







The parties also discussed developing a two-year roadmap for
bilateral cooperation. According to the ministry, they agreed to
establish a joint working group to advance the initiative, the
ministry noted.


"Our countries have very similar shares of water consumption in
industry and agriculture. Therefore, we are very interested in
Algeria's experience in water conservation and distribution across
economic sectors and the housing and utilities sector. We can also
consider exchanges of specialists to study each other's experience
in water management," Nurzhigitov said.


Meanwhile, Kazakhstan has been accelerating reforms in the water
sector in response to growing climate risks and water scarcity. In
2024, the country adopted the Water Resources Management System
Development Concept through 2030 and the Comprehensive Water Sector
Development Plan for 2024-2028. The plans envisage the construction
of 42 reservoirs, the reconstruction of 37 hydraulic structures and
14,000 kilometers of irrigation canals.


In May 2026, Kazakhstan also launched Central Asia's first
practical artificial precipitation enhancement (cloud seeding)
project in the Turkistan Region with support from the UAE National
Centre of Meteorology. The initiative aims to increase reservoir
levels and improve water supply for more than 911,000 hectares of
agricultural land affected by drought.