Uzbekistan will send even more water to Kazakhstan

Uzbekistan will send 16 billion cubic meters of water to Kazakhstan by October 1 this year. Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurzhan Nurzhigitov and Minister of Water Resources of Uzbekistan Shavkat Khamraev agreed on this at the 12th meeting of the Joint Working Group on deepening bilateral water cooperation.

The parties noted that over the past water management year (October 2023 – October 2024), 15 billion cubic meters of water were sent to Kazakhstan. Thus, this volume is expected to increase by 1 billion cubic meters in this water management year.

Also, the Uzbek side will help ensure a stable supply of water through the Dostyk canal in the irrigation season of 2025.

In addition, the ministers agreed to jointly carry out repair work on interstate canals, which will improve the supply of water to farmers of the Turkestan region of Kazakhstan and the Jizzakh region of Uzbekistan.

“Another topic for discussion was the automation of water metering on the Syrdarya River. Earlier, we identified the first 10 points, 5 in each of the countries where such systems will be installed. As of today, we have agreed on the terms of reference for the development of a feasibility study of the project. A meeting of the joint working group with representatives of international organizations will be held in February to discuss further joint actions,” Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurzhan Nurzhigitov said.