Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has announced that an agreement addressing the long-standing border dispute between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan is set to be signed in March this year.

According to Hurriyet Daily News, the announcement followed discussions between Fidan and Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe on January 10.  The Turkish top diplomat’s visit to Kyrgyzstan the day prior reportedly also featured discussions on the impending agreement.  

"As a brotherly country interested in the region, we attach importance to the agreement, which will be a major step in ensuring security and stability in Central Asia," Fidan was cited as saying during a press briefing in Dushanbe without providing further details.

Fidan reportedly also announced yesterday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to visit Tajikistan later this year.

Recall, the head of Turkiye’s diplomacy was received in Dushanbe by President Emomali Rahmon and his Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Muhriddin.    

The long-standing border dispute between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan has poisoned relations between the two Central Asian nations since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, leading to frequent clashes along the common border in recent years.

It is to be noted that 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 Fergana 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.  Border talks between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan began in 2002.  The countries share 972 kilometers of border and unresolved border issues have led to tensions for the past 30 years.

To-date, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have reportedly held more than 170 meetings and negotiations on delimitation and demarcation of the common border.  

Co-chairmen of the Tajik-Kyrgyz commission for delimitation and demarcation of the disputed segments of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border – Head of the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan (SCNS) Saimumin Yatimov and his Kyrgyz counterpart Kamchybek Tashiyev – said last month that they have agreed upon more than 90% of common border.