Uzbekistan: Karimov Woos Turkmen Leader on Water Issues

Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan's "united front" against hydroelectric projects in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan may soon get another member. Uzbek President Islam Karimov has been working the phones, trying to enlist Turkmen leader Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov in the cause.

According to the Turkmen state news agency, Berdymukhamedov and the Uzbek head-of-state discussed "national priorities and new realities" on April 8.

"In this context, the Presidents noted the importance of joint efforts to develop new approaches to address common water problems in the region, as well as the problems of the Aral Sea," the state news agency report said. It noted that the conversation had taken place at Karimov's initiative.

The Central Asian states are due to convene at an International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea meeting in Almaty on April 28. Both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are keen to pursue upstream hydroelectric projects. Downstream users Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan worry that their irrigation-intensive agricultural sectors may suffer as a result of Kyrgyz and Tajik development projects.