Kyrgyz, Tajik presidents to sign border agreement Wednesday

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon and his Kyrgyz counterpart Sadyr Japarov will sign a border agreement on March 12.

Rahmon will pay a state visit to Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday to hold bilateral talks with Japarov and other high-level officials, the Kyrgyz presidency said in a statement.

"It is planned to adopt a joint statement...and sign the Agreement on the State Border between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of Tajikistan, and other bilateral documents,” it added.

The agreement marks a significant step towards easing longstanding tensions between the two Central Asian neighbors, which have experienced sporadic border clashes over the years.

The Kyrgyz-Tajik border, stretching over 970 kilometers (602 miles), has been a point of contention since the collapse of the Soviet Union, with numerous disputes over land and access to resources fueling conflicts in border communities.