On Wednesday April 28, Rajabboy Ahmadzoda, governor of the Tajik northern Sughd province, and Omurbek Suvanaliyev, governor of Kyrgyzstan's Batken, held a meeting in a neutral zone of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border to discuss cooperation issues, according to the press center of the Sughd governor’s office.
The two also discussed incidents that had occurred along the mutual border over the past three months and ways to prevent them.
They also exchanged views on preventing illegal construction on the border and in disputed areas.
The governors reportedly stressed that border incidents and conflicts should be resolved by local authorities without the intervention of power-wielding structures.
Ahmadzoda and Suvanaliyev agreed to continue weekly discussion of the issues at the level of heads of districts and twice a month at the level of heads of regions, the press center of the Sughd governor’s office said.
The border of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan has been the scene of unrest repeatedly since the collapse of the former Soviet Union.
Border talks between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan began in 2002. The countries share 976 kilometers of border – of which only 504 kilometers has reportedly been properly delineated.
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.
