Officials from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have finalized a border delimitation agreement, taking the edge off what had been sharpest border dispute in the Central Asian region.  The agreement is expected to catalyze the expansion of regional trade.

During a joint meeting of the government delegations of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on the delimitation and demarcation of the shared border that took place on February 21 and was co-chaired by Kamchybek Tashiyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan, and Saymumin Yatimov, Chairman of the State Committee for National Security of Tajikistan, the parties reportedly initialed the following drafts: the agreement between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on the Tajik-Kyrgyz state border; the agreement between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on the construction and use of roadways, the arrangement and use of road intersections; and the government-to-government agreement between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on ensuring access to water management and energy Facilities.

The parties also instructed to begin the procedure for the internal state coordination of the respective bilateral international agreements.

The meeting resulted in signing of the corresponding protocol.

Following up on the border pact, Kyrgyz officials announced on February 24 that the presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will meet on March 31 in the Tajik northern city of Khujand for the first trilateral gathering of its kind. The summit is expected to become an important step in strengthening regional cooperation.  

Meanwhile, Kyrgyz officials have pledged to strengthen controls at border crossings connecting the country with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, according to Eurasianet.  Currently, five road crossings connecting Kyrgyzstan to Tajikistan and Uzbekistan lack border controls.  The Kyrgyz move to bolster those checkpoints is needed to comply with Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) requirements that all crossing at the union’s external border maintain a stringent customs regime.  Kyrgyzstan is the only one of the three states that is a full member of the EAEU.

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan first announced in December that they had tentatively reached agreement on the delimitation of their 987-kilometer-long frontier.

The border of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan has been the scene of unrest repeatedly since the collapse of the former Soviet Union.   Border talks between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan began in 2002.  Unresolved border issues have led to tensions for the past 30 years.

Tensions between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have remained high until recently, owing to a border dispute, as well as other issues involving irrigation, smuggling, and illegal border crossings.

This dispute has led to clashes between the two countries.  Kyrgyzstan unilaterally closed the border with Tajikistan in spring 2021 after an armed conflict along a disputed segment of the border left 36 Kyrgyz nationals, including two children.

During fierce armed confrontations, a lot of schools, mosques were destroyed in addition to the houses of civilians; administrative buildings were also attacked by fire.

When the border closed, official trade turnover plummeted to nothing.  Smugglers continued to ply their wares across the border, however.