The Central Asian states of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have signed a landmark peace deal which will see the end of their border dispute and the demarcation of their shared 970 km border.
The festering border dispute had led to full-fledged skirmishes between the militaries of the two Muslim-majority states over the last few years.
The peace deal ending the historic dispute was signed in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, by the President of Kyrgyzstan, Sadyr Japarov, and his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rakhmon.
The bill was adopted by Kyrgyzstan’s parliament in three readings last Wednesday. The statement said the creation of a legal and regulatory framework between the two countries aims to ensure stability and security, as well as create favourable conditions for Kyrgyz and Tajik citizens, especially along the border regions.
The agreement also provides for the reopening of road, rail, and air transport links between the two states, which had been suspended since the border clashes of September 2022.
In 2021 and 2022, major clashes were reported between the armies of the two countries near the Kyrgyz border town of Batken, culminating in a major confrontation and skirmishes over a period of six days, leaving dozens of soldiers dead.
Disputes between the two countries over the long shared border date back to Soviet times, when Moscow first drew up frontiers between the ethnically mixed parts of Muslim Central Asia.
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Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are both home to Russian military bases and maintain close relations with Moscow, where many of their citizens go every year in search of employment and other economic opportunities.
The two countries have also been in the international spotlight for a major Islamic revival in the region following the end of Communist rule and the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Neighbours of the two Central Asian states have welcomed the signing of the peace deal and the restoration of travel and trade links.
United Nations chief António Guterres celebrated the deal as a “historic achievement.”
A spokesperson for the UN, Stéphane Dujarric, said in a statement: “The Secretary-General congratulates the two countries on this historic achievement and commends their leadership, determination, and political will to bring the decades-long negotiation process to a successful conclusion.
“The Secretary-General looks forward to sustained constructive engagement between the two countries to strengthen mutual trust, good-neighbourly relations, and a peaceful future for their peoples and the region as a whole.”
