Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan to sign interstate agreement November 19 in Bokhara

Turkmenistan.ru October 26 Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are expected to sign an interstate agreement on the issues of stabilization of the Turkmen-Uzbek border situation, joint use of irrigation and other facilities on the basis of equal partnership and fair allocation of water at a meeting scheduled for November 19 in the Uzbek city of Bokhara. Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov announced it during the People’s Council session yesterday. As the Ashgabat correspondent of Turkmenistan.ru reminds us, during phone talks on September 24 Presidents Saparmurat Niyazov of Turkmenistan and Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan agreed on the establishment of working groups to prepare documents on further deepening of economic and cultural cooperation between the two states. The presidents plan to sign these documents on November 19 in Bokhara. As Saparmurat Niyazov said at the People’s Council session, “we had some misunderstandings” but “we should have no problems with Uzbekistan as we are going to keep maintaining brotherly relations with Uzbekistan as well as Iran, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and we will settle all outstanding issues through negotiations.” “The main point at issue in the region is water, the Turkmen leader said. Amudarya flows through the territories of five states. And 70% of the river runs through Turkmenistan. Water should be used on the fair and equal basis. Peoples are growing in number, they have to digest new lands, grow wheat, cotton, and each state should become stronger. The Turkmen lake that we are creating to accumulate drainage water will allow us to redirect it after purification for further irrigation of fields. Not only Turkmenistan but the whole region will benefit from that.”