Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have agreed to supply Kazakhstan with 600 million cubic meters of water to help stabilize irrigation in the country’s south, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev said, according to the Prime Minister’s official portal.
He noted that the decision comes amid a severe shortage of water resources in the region, threatening to disrupt agricultural operations. The year 2025 has been one of the driest in decades, with high summer temperatures, unusually low rainfall, and reduced inflows to major rivers creating serious risks for crop yields and food security.
Kazakhstan had fallen behind its water supply targets by more than 1 billion cubic meters, which could have negatively affected farmers’ incomes. Negotiations with Bishkek and Tashkent were conducted on an accelerated basis and resulted in concrete agreements.
The water will be delivered through transboundary rivers, including the Syr Darya, as well as canals and reservoirs. According to the Kazakh side, the flow of the Syr Darya, Shu, and Talas rivers has dropped to 30–40% of the long-term average.
Experts say the joint measures will help save the current agricultural season and could form the basis for a long-term water management mechanism in Central Asia. Discussions are already underway within the SCO and other platforms on creating a unified digital system for monitoring and distributing water resources.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
August 12, 2025