Kazakh authorities have announced their readiness to provide Kyrgyzstan with discounts on the transit and export of socially significant goods. This was revealed following negotiations in Astana between Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet Bakyt Torobaev and Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin, according to a statement from the press service of the Government of Kazakhstan.
In particular, it is planned to lower tariffs for services on the main railway network. This will simplify the supply of Kyrgyz products and make them more accessible on the Kazakh market.
Additionally, the two sides agreed to establish a "green corridor" for the supply of agricultural products in order to reduce the time required for customs procedures.
The talks also covered the supply of oil and the simplification of migration regulations. For now, it was agreed to create a working group to work out these issues in detail.
Water in exchange for trade support
Water cooperation was a separate point of the negotiations. During the 2025 irrigation season, Kyrgyzstan will send Kazakhstan more than 600 million cubic meters of water to irrigate fields in the Zhambyl region.
This agreement was reached at the 35th meeting of the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyz Commission on the Use of Interstate Water Management Facilities on the Chu and Talas Rivers between Kazakhstan’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, and Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Water Resources, Agriculture, and Processing Industry, Bakyt Torobaev, reports Caravan.kz.
According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources, 45 million cubic meters of water had already been delivered by April. By the end of the season, 400 million cubic meters will be delivered through the Talas River and another 180 million through the Chu River.
The sides also discussed issues of environmental control - agreeing to continue the work of a joint group for environmental protection and water quality monitoring.
Kazakhstan’s Minister of Water Resources, Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, recalled that thanks to agreements with Kyrgyzstan last year, farmers in the Zhambyl region were fully provided with irrigation water:
"Through the Talas River, 418 million cubic meters of water were delivered instead of the projected 380 million. Through the Chu River, 165.3 million cubic meters were delivered, which is 29.7 million more than the previous year," he noted.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
April 28, 2025