Bishkek, Oct. 1, 2025 /Kabar/. The changes in relations between the countries of Central Asia in recent years have laid the foundation for cooperation in a wide range of areas. In politics and economics, we are no longer competitors, but partners who resolve a wide range of issues together, based on consensus and respect for each other's national interests.
This also applies to the energy sector, which in our region is closely linked to water management issues. For example, in winter, hydro power plants in Kyrgyzstan are forced to release significant volumes of water from reservoirs to meet the significantly increased electricity needs of the population during the cold season and maintain the functioning of the industrial sector. But by spring, we and our neighbors need significant moisture reserves to carry out sowing and irrigate crops in the summer.
Interstate agreements in this sector are crucial, as without taking into account the interests of partners and mutual assistance, a water and energy crisis will engulf the entire region. A trilateral meeting was recently held in Cholpon-Ata, where the energy ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan discussed and approved key decisions to mitigate risks in the upcoming autumn-winter period and create predictable conditions for water accumulation for the next growing season, which is essential for the sustainability of the agricultural sector.
According to the press service of the Ministry of Energy of Kyrgyzstan, the key document sets out the parties' obligations to ensure water releases from the Toktogul Reservoir in exchange for electricity supplies from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan. The terms for the transit of electricity from Russia to Kyrgyzstan through Kazakhstan's power grid were also agreed upon. These measures are aimed at maintaining the required water level in the reservoir and providing irrigation water to Kazakhstan's southern regions during the upcoming growing season.
In other words, experts note that maintaining a balance of interests between neighbors ensures the stable operation of the regional energy system in winter and allows for the accumulation of water for the spring and summer. All of this, taken together, is key to the development of Central Asian countries. Furthermore, food security for us and our neighbors depends on the sustainable supply of irrigation for agricultural land.