Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are digitalizing transboundary water accounting.

Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan intend to strengthen cooperation on water resources, focusing on the creation of a Joint Kazakh-Uzbek Commission on Water Relations and expanding the digitalization of transboundary water accounting, according to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan.

These decisions were made on August 8 in Turkestan during the 14th meeting of the Joint Working Group, which aims to develop proposals for deepening bilateral cooperation on water relations.

The working group was chaired by Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan, and Shavkat Khamrayev, Minister of Water Resources of Uzbekistan. Yeraly Tugzhanov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan, also attended the meeting.

The participants discussed the implementation of the Agreement between the governments of the two countries on the joint management and rational use of transboundary water bodies. The Kazakh and Uzbek sides expressed satisfaction with the ratification of the document and reviewed the draft Regulations on the Joint Kazakh-Uzbek Commission.

This Commission is expected to become a permanent mechanism for implementing the agreement on the joint management and rational use of transboundary water bodies.

Particular attention was paid to the digitalization of water management. The parties commended the progress of the project to automate gauging stations in the Syr Darya River basin and agreed to continue expanding this system.

As part of the project, with the support of international financial institutions, it is planned to automate 10 gauging stations on key transboundary watersheds—five in each country. The goal of the system is to ensure transparent water accounting, online data transmission, and the creation of a unified database for information exchange.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to hold the 15th meeting of the Joint Working Group in Uzbekistan.

Nurzhan Nurzhigitov emphasized that the bilateral format of cooperation allows for the prompt resolution of specific water management issues.

According to him, the ratification of the agreement by both countries creates a new legal basis for further work.