First Fergana Peace Forum

On 15-16 October 2025, the first Fergana Peace Forum brought together the heads of Fergana province in Uzbekistan, Batken region in Kyrgyzstan and Sogd province in Tajikistan.

The Forum titled “Fergana Valley: Joining Forces for Peace and Progress” was organized by the Institute for Strategic and Interregional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, OSCE, EU and a number of international and national partners.

This event was aimed to build dialogue and unite efforts for more solid unity and harmony of nations.

The Forum's participants included experts from think tanks across the CIS, Asia, Europe, and America, as well as representatives from Central Asian civil society, businesses, academia, and youth organizations.

Sherzod Muminov, Deputy Director spoke at the Forum on behalf of SIC ICWC.

On the second day of the Ferghana Forum, along with the topic of unity and harmony of nations, discussions also focused on climate change and water use.

In his speech, Mr. Muminov stated that the quantity of water in the Ferghana Valley has decreased over the past ten years. This value has declined by an average of 3% per year as a result of climate change.

“Today, water-saving technologies such as drip and sprinkling irrigation, etc. have been adopted on more than 75,000 ha of irrigated land in the valley. This helped to reduce inputs of water by an average of 45–50%, mineral fertilizers by 25–30%, fuel and lubricants by 30–35%, and labor by 20%. At the same time, crop yields have increased by an average of 30%,” told Sherzod Muminov.

Dr. Muminov noted that SIC ICWC is implementing a number of projects in the territory of the Ferghana Valley, such as EU–UNEP Climate and Environment Partnership Project “Facilitating Region-Specific Approaches to Addressing Climate and Environment-Related Risks for Socio-Economic Stability in Central Asia” and the Project “Correction of hydromodule zoning of the Syr Darya River Basin using remote sensing data and satellite mapping technologies for correction of water consumption and irrigation regimes for agricultural crops cultivated in the region,” implemented under an agreement with the Executive Committee of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (EC IFAS) with financial support from the French Development Agency (AFD).

He also informed the Forum participants about the establishment of a regional network on environmental and water issues in Uzbekistan. In addition, he proposed forming a youth network called “Youth of the Ferghana Valley for Water” and drafting a special document for presentation at the upcoming World Water Forum in Riyadh.

During the sessions, experts repeatedly emphasized that water resources should be managed based on mutual respect for interests, compromises, and sovereign equality.