Tajikistan attaches special significance to its relations with Kyrgyzstan, says Tajik leader

According to the Tajik president’s official website, the two sides discussed a broad range of issues related to state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan as well as cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the CSTO.  

Tajik leader, in particular, noted that based on principle of friendship and neighborliness, Tajikistan attaches a special significance to its relations with Kyrgyzstan.  

Rahmon and Jeenbekov reportedly also discussed the process of implementation of bilateral agreements on delineation of the border between their countries.  

Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic were established on January 14, 1993 by signing the Protocol.  The Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic functions in Dushanbe since March 1997.  The Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan functions in Bishkek.

For the purpose of efficiently solving priority issues and further deepening of the bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic the sustainable institutional foundation was established - Interstate Coordinating Council, The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic, two Tajik-Kyrgyz Intergovernmental commissions: for comprehensive review of bilateral issues and on delimitation and demarcation of borders.

Priorities of political contacts of two countries are reviewed in the context of such common goals as strengthening of security and stability in the region, the assistance for further development of the integration process.

In this respect, cooperation within the framework of UN, OSCE, CIS, SCO, CSTO, IFAS, financial institutions and other international and regional organizations where the Republic of Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic take part in, is of great importance.

However, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have not yet resolved the border delineation problem.  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 Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan 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.

This year alone, there have reportedly been at least half a dozen cases of violence, typically stemming from differences among local residents about how to share land and resources.