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Uzbekistan, Tajikistan ink historic deal to cancel visa regime

Uzbekistan Materials 9 March 2018 20:15 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, March 9

By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:

Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have signed agreement on cancellation of the visa regime active since 2001 during the first official visit of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Dushanbe, Tajikistan, on March 9, the press office of the Uzbek president reported.

“Residents of the two countries may stay in each other’s territory without any permit for 30 days. The corresponding agreement has been signed by President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev,” the press office said.

After a many-year hiatus, nine checkpoints - eight car and one train checkpoint - resumed their work on March 1 to ensure normal conditions for the residents of both countries while crossing the border.

In April 2017, the Uzbekistan Airways carried out the Tashkent-Dushanbe flight for the first time in the last 25 years. The air communication between the two countries was cut in 1992.

According to the information, the sides have also signed an agreement on certain parts of the Uzbek-Tajik border.

The state commissions on delimitation and demarcation of the border between the two countries were created back in 2000. In less than two years they managed to coordinate 84 percent of the border, i.e. 1,240 kilometers out of total 1,332. The countries signed an agreement on the coordinated parts of the border in 2002. However, exchange of ratification documents was carried out only in 2009. The delay was caused by the continuous fruitless talks on the remaining parts of the border. The sides reattempted to finish the delimitation in 2012, but once again in vain. The main cause for the differences was the territory of the Farhad water electric plant, built back in 1940s.

An agreement on the most controversial part of the border was signed in January 2018 during the official visit of Uzbek Premier Abdulla Aripov to Dushanbe. The sides agreed on considering the area of the power plant a Tajik territory, while the object itself an Uzbek property.

Tashkent hosted the meetings of working groups of government delegations of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan from Feb. 24 to March 1, during which, the negotiations on delimitation and demarcation of the state borders were held.

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