DUSHANBE, August 29, Asia-Plus — The next round of talks in Tashkent on use by Central Asia’s states of water and energy resources in the basin of the Syrdarya River has not done any results, Asia-Plus has learned from Yarash Pulodov, Director General of the Research Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Land Reclamation.

Yarash Pulodov and Abdullo Qurbonov, the head of the energy policy department of the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoEI), represented Tajikistan at the meeting in Tashkent. 

According to Pulodov, the meeting discussed issues related to elaborating a draft agreement “On Use of Water and Energy Resources in the Basin of the Syrdarya River.”  “Though positions of the countries of the region have come nearer, the sides till have a number of differences, in particular on name of the agreement, period of validity of the agreement and principles of management of water resources of the Syrdarya River,” said Pulodov. 

According to him, Tajikistan uses only 8 percent of water resources of the river, while Uzbekistan uses 46 percent.  “However, countries located in the lower reaches of Syrdarya – Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – intends to get new, more beneficial terms of managing water resources of Syrdarya, while this proposal does not suit Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan,” Pulodov said.  

He noted that Kyrgyz experts had not participated in the talks.  “They just sent their version of the draft agreement,” the institute director said.  

It is to be noted that the mentioned raft agreement was elaborated in 1984 already and since that time, the coordination commission has failed to reach an agreement on this issue.  Consultations in Tashkent were already the fourth meeting.  Tajikistan did not participate at the last two meetings.