Recently, the 86th meeting of the Interstate Coordination Water Commission (ICWC) took place. It includes Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
As a result of the meeting, an agreement was reached on the supply of 922 million cubic meters of water to Kazakhstan, which will flow through the Dostyk interstate canal during the irrigation season.
At the same time, 4.8 billion cubic meters of water have been collected in the Shardara reservoir in the Turkestan region. The Toktogul reservoir (Kyrgyzstan), from which water is used to irrigate fields in southern Kazakhstan, has collected 8 billion cubic meters.
Also at the meeting, the forecast schedule for the operation of the Naryn-Syrdarya cascade of reservoirs until September 30 of this year was approved.
Separately, the meeting participants discussed the work within the framework of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea, which Kazakhstan has chaired since the beginning of the year. The country has already completed all organizational work.
A draft agreement “On the creation of a mechanism for water and energy cooperation between the countries of Central Asia” is also being developed.
“Our first priority now is to collect the flood water. We send it to the Caspian Sea, Balkhash, Kamysh-Samar lakes, from the Ulytau region to the lakes of the Kyzylorda region, etc. But at the same time, it is important to provide water to the southern regions. And in this matter, water diplomacy is very important,” emphasized the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nurzhan Nurjigitov.
The next ICWC meeting will be held in September this year in Turkmenistan.
