BISHKEK (TCA) — Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan continue negotiations on their border delimitation and demarcation, as the border line between the two countries remains unsettled since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sputnik news agency reported citing the Kyrgyz government’s press service.
The Kyrgyz-Uzbek border has repeatedly become a center of clashes between local residents. After Shavkat Mirziyoyev took Uzbekistan’s presidential office in 2016, the bilateral relations between the two countries have seen a breakthrough. As of May 2017, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan had agreed on around 1,055 kilometers, or 76.5 percent, of their border line.
“Since the renewal of the talks, from August 2016 to July 31, 2017, a total of 14 governmental delegation task groups’ meetings have been held, where the problems of boundary delimitation and demarcation have been discussed,” the Kyrgyz government’s press service said on July 31.
According to the statement, the negotiation teams’ heads Uzbek ambassador at large and adviser to Uzbekistan’s Minister of Interior Affairs Ilhom Nematov and Kyrgyz Government’s special representative Kurbanbai Iskandarov have informed Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister Sooronbai Jeenbekov on the talks process, particularly on the nine-day negotiations held in Bishkek between July 20 and 29.
“Overall, the meeting was held on a constructive basis and in a friendly atmosphere. Based on the results of the negotiations, we have signed a protocol and agreed upon holding another task group meeting on the territory of Uzbekistan,” the press service added.
In June 2017, Kyrgyz and Uzbek presidents tasked responsible authorities with the task of accelerating the work on signing the bilateral delimitation and demarcation agreement on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Kazakhstan’s capital city of Astana.
