UN chief hails Kyrgyz-Tajik border treaty breakthrough

The presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Sadyr Japarov and Emomali Rahmon, signed the agreement at a meeting in Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital, earlier today, according to media reports.

Closed since 2021, two checkpoints on the nearly 1,000-km-long Tajik-Kyrgyz border have now resumed operation, and flights from Bishkek to Dushanbe and Khujand will begin on Friday.

‘Historic achievement’

UN chief António Guterres “congratulates the two countries on this historic achievement and commends their leadership, determination and political will to bring the decades-long negotiation process to a successful conclusion”, his Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement.

“The Secretary-General looks forward to sustained constructive engagement between the two countries to strengthen mutual trust, good-neighbourly relations and a peaceful future for their peoples and the region as a whole,” Mr. Dujarric said.

Resolving past violence

Border tensions between the two neighbours have erupted in the form of skirmishes over the past decade, according to news reports.

In 2022, an escalation of deadly violence emerged along the Kyrgyz-Tajik border culminating in a six-day conflict in September. At the time, the UN chief had called on the leadership of the two countries to engage in dialogue for a lasting ceasefire.

Previous flare ups at the border had reportedly displaced thousands of people.