Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are expected to resume negotiations on delimitation and demarcation of the mutual border in early March.
The work of the government commission for delimitation and demarcation of border has been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, Nazirbek Borubayev, a special representative of the Kyrgyz government for border issues, said at a press briefing on February 16, according to 24.kg.
“As you know, the chief of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS) Kamchybek Tashiyev heads the commission for delimitation and demarcation of border. He is sick now. When he returns to Kyrgyzstan, we will resume border talks with Tajikistan in early March,” Borubayev was cited as saying.
He further noted that Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan began border talks in 2020 and they have agreed on 60 percent of the border so far.
“The rest of the stretches are very difficult, and therefore, it is not possible to solve in a short time,” Borubayev noted.
It is to be noted that many border areas in Central Asia have been disputed since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The situation is particularly complicated near the numerous exclaves in the Ferghana Valley, where the borders of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan meet.
The border of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan has been the scene of unrest repeatedly since the collapse of the former Soviet Union. The countries share 971 kilometers of border – of which only 504 kilometers has reportedly been properly delineated so far.
In 2019 alone, there were at least fourteen cases of violence, in which six Tajik nationals and one Kyrgyz citizen were killed and more than 60 other people were injured.
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan renewed interest in border delimitation suggests that the governments want to dedicate more attention and resources to the communities living in the Ferghana Valley.
