Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan to sign agreement on trans-boundary water bodies

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan will sign an agreement on the joint use and protection of trans-boundary water bodies in 2013, the Agriculture and Water Resources Ministry of Uzbekistan told Trend on Friday.

According to the Uzbek Agriculture Ministry, an agreement on the preparation of the relevant document was reached during the 12th meeting of the joint Uzbek-Kazakh intergovernmental commission on bilateral cooperation held in Tashkent on Thursday.

According to the agreement, the Kazakh side will develop a draft of the relevant agreement and send it to the Uzbek side through diplomatic channels for coordination.

It is planned that the agreement will envisage in particular, a regular exchange of information on measures to reduce the negative impact of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan's economic entities on trans-boundary waters and exchange of experience of inspection control

As was previously reported, in a joint statement issued following the visit of the Uzbek President to Kazakhstan in September 2012, the two leaders agreed to resolve all issues in the water and energy sector, including the construction of new hydro technical constructions on trans boundary rivers, in accordance with the generally recognised norms of international law and the interests of all states in the region.