Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan reach deal on last contested Central Asian border

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan reach historic border demarcation deal after decades of deadly clashes over resources.

Central Asian neighbours Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on Wednesday (December 4, 2024) announced a border demarcation deal on the last contested frontier in the region, potentially ending decades of territorial disputes.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the border between the impoverished countries has seen sporadic deadly clashes, with the neighbours fighting over access to water and resources in the remote region.

The 970-kilometre (600 mile) border, part of which was not demarcated, is among the most mountainous in the world.

The deal, reached by Bishkek's and Dushanbe's powerful secret service chiefs, comes almost two years after an intense and bloody border conflict killed around 100 people in September 2022.

The governments of both countries said they had “reached an agreement and fully completed the drawing of the remaining sections of the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border.”

They published images of Kyrgyz security chief Kamchybek Tashiev shaking hands with his Tajik counterpart Saimumin Yatimov.

The delegations met in the Kyrgyz city of Batken, south of the Tajik border.