Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan expected to resume border talks tomorrow

Tajik and Kyrgyz delegations will meet in the Tajik northern city of Isfara, an aide to the Tajik Deputy Prime Minister Azim Ibrohim told Asia-Plus in an interview. 

According to him, a Tajik delegation will consist of senior representatives of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, State Committee for National Security (SCNS), Interior Ministry and some other relevant agencies and will be led by Deputy Prime Minister, Azim Ibrohim.

Meanwhile the Kyrgyz government’s press service says a Kyrgyz delegation, comprising senior representatives of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, State Committee for National Security, State Border Service, Interior Ministry and some other relevant agencies, will be led by Vice-Premier, Jenish Razakov.

The meeting will be held in border area, according to the Kyrgyz government’s press service.

The parties are expected to discuss the current situation along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border and measures to strengthen border security and prevent clashes between residents of the border areas of the two countries.

They will also issues related to intensification of work on delimitation and demarcation of the mutual border.  

The meeting will take place in accordance with an agreement reached during a telephone conversation of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon with his Kyrgyz counterpart Sooronbay Jeenbekov that took place on January 11.  Both heads of state pointed to the necessity of continuing border talks.

Recall, the latest incident along the Tajik-Kyrgyz border took place on the night of January-9-10.  Both sides blamed each other for the incident    

It is to be noted that 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.

Last year 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.