In a statement released on February 2, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan advises Tajikistanis to refrain from traveling to Kyrgyzstan.

The statement, in particular, notes that the Tajik side has recorded facts of biased attitude towards citizens of Tajikistan in Kyrgyzstan.  

Universities of Kyrgyzstan reportedly continue the practice of artificially delaying the process of returning documents of Tajik students, create obstacles for Tajik students applying for documents for transferring to universities in Tajikistan.

The statement says the facts of detention of Tajik students by Kyrgyz competent agencies at the border crossing points have been recorded.  

“Considering the above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan applies to the citizens of our country studying or working in Kyrgyzstan with an urgent request to refrain from traveling to this country,” the statement says.

As it had been reported earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan on October 22, 2021 took a decision to reopen the country’s border for Tajik students studying at higher educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan.

According to data from Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Education, 1,932 students from Tajikistan studied at universities in Kyrgyzstan in 2020-2021. 

Around 450 kilometers of the 970 kilometers of border shared by the two countries remains unresolved, despite decades of attempts to bring the matter to a close.  The uncertainty has often caused tension among communities in contested sections.