A meeting of the Tajik-Uzbek intergovernmental commission for delimitation and demarcation of the mutual border took place in the Uzbek city of Ferghana on February 24, according to the Tajik MFA information department.
The meeting participants included members of the governments as well as senior representatives of ministries, agencies and leading economic structures of the two countries.
Co-chaired by Tajik Prime Minister Qohir Rasoulzoda and his Uzbek counterpart Abdulla Aripov, the meeting reportedly discussed issues related to delineation of disputable stretches of the mutual border.
The sides, in particular, noted that significant success had been achieved in the process of delimitation of the common border in a brief space of time.
The meeting participants also paid attention to the upcoming high-level events on preparation and coordination of a package of bilateral documents that are expected to be signed during Uzbek president’s state visit to Tajikistan in early March.
Recall, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan agreed to visa-free travel between their nations and other border-crossing measures during Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov to Dushanbe last month.
Rasoulzoda and Aripov agreed to finalize and sign the new border protocols in the near future.
The new border regulations will allow Tajik and Uzbek citizens to visit each others’ countries without visas for up to 30 days.
They will also provide for the building of new checkpoints along the border and the opening of several bus links to connect the two nations' towns and cities.
The reports said an agreement was also reached regarding the disputed dam of the Soviet-era Farhod hydropower station along the border.
Under the accord, the land on which the station stands will be Tajik property, while the station itself — including its equipment and infrastructure — will be owned by Uzbekistan.
