The 88th meeting of the Interstate Coordination Water Management Commission of Central Asia (ICWMC) took place in Dushanbe. Leaders from the water management agencies of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan participated in the event.
The parties discussed the progress of the inter-irrigation period in the basins of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers.
It is noteworthy that the planned volume of water will flow into the Shardara Reservoir in the Turkestan region via the Syr Darya River. Of this, 1.6 billion cubic meters will be directed to the Aral Sea.
“This will allow us to accumulate the necessary volume of water for this year's irrigation period and ensure the maintenance of ecosystem conditions in the southern regions of Kazakhstan. I would like to highlight that the situation in the south differs from that in the west and north of the country. There are no floods and floodwaters in such volumes and scales. In the summer, the demand for irrigation water is very high. Therefore, in the south, we conduct a completely different approach to water provision. Water diplomacy is a priority there, and we are at a fairly good level. Thanks to negotiations, we provided uninterrupted water supply to the southern part of the country last year. All issues related to water distribution and the protection of transboundary water resources are addressed jointly with our colleagues from Central Asian countries,” noted Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation.