Kyrgyzstan will supply over 600 million cubic meters of water to Kazakhstan during this year’s irrigation season. This was agreed upon at the 35th meeting of the Kazakh-Kyrgyz Commission on the Use of Interstate Water Management Facilities of the transboundary Shu and Talas rivers, which flow from Kyrgyzstan.
According to the Kazakh Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, this water will irrigate farmland in the Zhambyl region in south Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan’s agriculture, especially in its arid southern regions, relies heavily on irrigation water from upstream Kyrgyzstan.
Since the beginning of the irrigation season in April, Kazakhstan has already received 45 million cubic meters of water from Kyrgyzstan.
Starting from the end of April, Kyrgyzstan will send another 400 million cubic meters of water to Kazakhstan via the Talas river and 180 million cubic meters via the Shu river.
According to Kazakh Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, last year Kyrgyzstan fully provided farmers in the Zhambyl region with irrigation water. “Instead of the planned 380 million cubic meters of water, 418 million cubic meters came to Kazakhstan via the Talas river and 165 million cubic meters were received from the Shu river, 29.7 million cubic meters more than the year before,” he said.
