The 93rd Meeting of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination of Central Asia

On April 10, the 93rd meeting of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination (ICWC) of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan was held in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. The meeting was organized by the Uzbek party and chaired by Mr. Sh. Khamraev, Minister of Water Management of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The meeting was attended by ICWC members, including N. Nurzhigitov, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan; D. Ishakuliyev (by proxy) from Turkmenistan; D. Abdurazokzoda (by proxy) from Tajikistan. The Kyrgyz Republic was represented by A. Kazkanov, Counselor to the Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Heads of ICWC executive bodies also participated in the meeting: M. Makhramov, BWO Amu Darya; O. Kholkhudjaev, BWO Syr Darya; D. Ziganshina, SIC ICWC; U. Nazarov, ICWC Secretariat, as well as invited participants.

The agenda included the following items:

• Results of the use of water withdrawal limits/quotas and operation regimes of reservoirs in the Syr Darya River and Amu Darya River basins during the non-growing season 2025-2026.
• Approval of country water withdrawal limits and projected operation regime of reservoir cascades in the Syr Darya River and Amu Darya River basins for the growing season 2026.
• Progress on the fulfillment of tasks arising from the summits of the Heads of IFAS Founder States.
• Agenda and venue of the regular 94th ICWC meeting.

BWO Amu Darya and BWO Syr Darya reported on the first and second items were presented. The reports covered the countries’ use of water during the non-growing season and included proposals on water withdrawal limits and projected reservoir operation regimes for the 2026 growing season.

On the third item, Ms. Ziganshina, Director of SIC ICWC, reported on follow-up actions of water management organizations and ICWC executive bodies to realize the initiatives proposed at the summits of the Heads of IFAS states in Turkmenbashi (2018) and Dushanbe (2023).

Following discussions on all agenda items, the parties reached agreed decisions, and a protocol was signed.

The 94th ICWC meeting will be held later this year in Kazakhstan. The exact date and venue will be announced in due course.