Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan agree on joint management of Chechme water source

Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have reached an agreement to jointly manage the Chechme water source, a move aimed at resolving long-standing border disputes and ensuring equitable resource utilization. The agreement was signed by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during a meeting on the shores of Issyk-Kul lake.

The specifics of the joint management plan have not yet been fully detailed, but both nations have previously expressed their intention to collaboratively regulate water usage, purification processes, and other related issues concerning the Chechme source. This source is strategically located near Uzbekistan's Sokh district in the Fergana Valley and Kyrgyzstan's Chechme village in the Batken region.

Historically, the Chechme source has been a contentious issue along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. In May 2025, then-head of Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security, Kamchybek Tashiev, stated that the source had been allocated to Kyrgyzstan after border clarifications. However, discussions regarding its joint use continued.

Previous efforts to resolve the issue included statements from Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov in November 2022, indicating that a mutual solution had been found and that the terms of use and purification would be formalized in a separate agreement. Tensions between residents of border areas surrounding Chechme have flared up multiple times, with a significant conflict occurring in May 2020.

The broader delimitation of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border was declared complete by President Japarov in January 2023, following President Mirziyoyev's state visit to Bishkek. Since then, the countries have continued with the demarcation process.