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WATER POLITICS

Via Eurasia.Net, a report that Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are preparing to jointly block Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan’s proposed hydroelectric projects.  As the article notes:

“…Both downstream users of Central Asia’s main waterways, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, may use an upcoming conference on the Aral Sea to try to block hydro-power projects under consideration by Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which are both water-rich, but otherwise resource poor.

Published reports in Bishkek have speculated that Kazakhstani Prime Minister Karim Masimov’s visit to Tashkent on April 3 was used to coordinate a “united front” ahead of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea meeting in Almaty on April 28.

Meanwhile, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are slated to sign a water and energy sharing protocol in the coming days, the CA-News.org news website reported April 6. The agreement would cover the upcoming agricultural season.”