Uzbekistan and Tajikistan Take Step to Repair Strained Relations

For the first time in seven years, an Uzbek-Tajik Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation convened in Dushanbe on February 18 to explore solutions to a variety of issues that have divided the two Central Asian nations. While details about the discussions remained largely under wraps, regional experts proclaimed the meeting a success.

Disputes over energy and water use caused a spike in tension in Uzbek-Tajik relations in mid-January. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The fact that the intergovernmental commission session proceeded as planned served as a positive signal that bilateral relations may be on the mend. "No matter what the results of this intergovernmental meeting are, the meeting itself is a symbol of decreasing tensions," Abdugani Mamadazimov, head of National Association of Political Scientists of Tajikistan, told EurasiaNet.

Heading into the commission meeting, Uzbekistan's First Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Azimov sounded a conciliatory note. "We are neighbors that have common roots. This is a prerequisite for the development of cooperation," the CA-News.org website quoted Azimov as saying.