Uzbekistan transfers two villages to Kyrgyzstan

The villages of Chongara and Tosh-Tepa, previously belonging to Uzbekistan, have been transferred to Kyrgyzstan as part of the demarcation of the state border. Askat Alagozov, press secretary of the President of Kyrgyzstan, reported this on June 23.

According to him, about 2,500 residents living in these villages, which were previously part of Uzbekistan’s Fergana region, are ethnic Kyrgyz and will now receive Kyrgyz citizenship.

It was noted that the Kyrgyz side provided Uzbekistan with land plots of equal size located in the border area. In addition, land plots of equal value with a total area of 236 hectares were exchanged for the construction of a road from the village of Soy to the village of Tayan.

It was reported that through this road, residents of Kyrgyzstan’s Batken region will be able to travel from Aidarken to Batken much faster, covering 55 kilometers instead of the current 225-kilometer detour.

For reference, the foreign ministers of the two countries signed a treaty on certain sections of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek state border in November 2022. In January 2023, during Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s state visit to Bishkek, the Presidents of the two countries exchanged instruments of ratification.

Earlier, it was reported that Mirzamir Sidiqov, First Deputy Chairman of Kyrgyzstan’s State Border Service and Chief of the General Staff, said at a meeting of the Jogorku Kenesh Committee on International Affairs that President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev is expected to pay a state visit to Kyrgyzstan in August this year, during which the opening of the Seydikum border checkpoint will be discussed.