94th Meeting of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination of Central Asia

On 7 August, the 94th meeting of the Interstate Commission for Water Coordination of Central Asia (ICWC) was held in Turkistan, Republic of Kazakhstan. The meeting brought together representatives of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The meeting was organized by Kazakhstan and chaired by N.M. Nurjigitov, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The meeting was attended by ICWC members, including D. Juma, Minister of Energy and Water Resources of the Republic of Tajikistan; D.M. Genjiev, Chairman of the State Committee for Water Resources of Turkmenistan; and Sh.R. Khamraev, Minister of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The heads of ICWC executive bodies, including M.Y. Makhramov, Director of BWO Amu Darya; O.A. Kholkhudjaev, Director of BWO Syr Darya; D.R. Ziganshina, Director of SIC ICWC; U.A. Nazarov, Head of the ICWC Secretariat, and invited guests also participated in the meeting.

The meeting agenda included the following items:

• Results of the use of water withdrawal limits/quotas and the operation regimes of reservoirs in the Syr Darya and Amu Darya River basins during the 2026 growing season.
• Development of a draft Work Plan for the implementation of an automated water accounting system in the Syr Darya River basin.
• Review of matters related to the grant Project “Central Asian Water Efficiency Cooperation” (CAWEC).
• Progress on the fulfillment of tasks arising from the summits of the Heads of IFAS Founder-States.
• Agenda and venue of the 95th ICWC meeting.

One of the key agenda items was the use of water withdrawal limits/quotas and compliance with reservoir operation regimes in the Syr Darya and Amu Darya River basins during the 2026 growing season. The parties reviewed the current water situation in the region’s two largest transboundary river basins and exchanged information on compliance with the agreed water-use parameters and reservoir operation schedules.

Particular attention was paid to digitalization of water accounting system in the Syr Darya River basin. The ICWC members discussed the development of a draft Work Plan for automation of the water accounting system. This initiative is expected to improve water monitoring and accounting, accelerate data collection processes, and strengthen information exchange among basin countries.

The meeting also addressed issues related to the implementation of the grant Project “Central Asian Water Efficiency Cooperation” (CAWEC). The parties discussed key areas of cooperation under the project, as well as matters related to its implementation.

A separate agenda item focused on progress on the fulfillment of tasks arising from decisions of the summits of the Heads of IFAS founder-states. The participants exchanged on ongoing activities and reviewed priority areas aimed at fulfilling reached agreements.

The discussions confirmed the importance of further coordinating the efforts of Central Asian states in the field of transboundary water management, better mechanisms for water information exchange, and modern digital tools for water accounting and monitoring.

In closing, the parties reviewed the draft agenda for the 95th ICWC meeting, scheduled to take place in Turkmenistan.

Following discussions on all agenda items, the participants adopted joint decisions and signed the protocol.