BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 8. Central Asian water
officials met in Turkistan, Kazakhstan, to review water
availability and reservoir operations for the 2026 irrigation
season, as the region continues to coordinate management of the Amu
Darya and Syr Darya river basins.


This was reflected in the statement by the Tajik Ministry of
Energy and Water Resources following the 94th meeting of the
Interstate Commission for Water Coordination of Central Asia
(ICWC), which was held on August 7.


The 94th meeting brought together Tajikistan's Minister of
Energy and Water Resources Daler Juma, Kazakhstan's Minister of
Water Resources and Irrigation Nurlan Nurtzhigitov, Turkmenistan's
Chairman of the State Committee for Water Management Durdy
Gendjiev, and Uzbekistan's Minister of Water Resources Shavkat
Khamraev.


The officials reviewed water withdrawal results and the
operating regime of the cascade of reservoirs during the 2026
growing season in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins.


The meeting also addressed the implementation of proposals and
initiatives put forward by the Council of Heads of State of the
International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), reflecting
continued regional efforts to coordinate water management and
address shared environmental challenges.







A key issue on the agenda was the development of a draft plan to
introduce an automated water-resource accounting system in the Syr
Darya basin. Participants supported the development of the document
and agreed to establish a dedicated working group by September to
examine the issue and preparations for the plan.


"The participants supported the development of the draft plan
and decided to establish a special working group by September to
consider the issue," the Tajik Ministry of Energy and Water
Resources said.


The move toward automated water accounting could improve the
monitoring and management of water resources in one of Central
Asia's key river basins, where water allocation is closely linked
to agriculture, energy production and regional economic
activity.


Meanwhile, the 95th meeting of the ICWC is scheduled to take
place in Turkmenistan.