Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – A meeting of the joint working group on the comprehensive use of transboundary water resources of Central Asia between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan took place on August 3 in Dushanbe, according to the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan. The meeting was attended by Uzbekistan’s Minister of Water Management Shavkat Hamraev and Tajikistan’s Minister of Energy and Water Resources Daler Jumaa.

The delegations from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan discussed the prospects of a project to utilize the water resources of Lake Sarez to supply clean drinking water to Central Asian countries. They also explored opportunities for implementing new joint transboundary projects in the water management sector. This was reported by the press service of the CIS Executive Committee.

During the meeting, both parties expressed confidence in the future expansion and strengthening of cooperation in water resources between the two friendly countries.

The issue of using freshwater from Lake Sarez for drinking purposes was discussed during a state visit by the President of Tajikistan to Uzbekistan in 2018. At that time, the presidents of both republics instructed the intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation to explore these possibilities.

Lake Sarez is located in the Pamirs, in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan at an altitude of about 3,300 meters above sea level. The lake is approximately 70 km long, with a maximum depth of about 500 meters. The volume of water in the lake exceeds 17 cubic kilometers. Lake Sarez is a dammed or barrier lake formed as a result of a catastrophic blockage of the Bartang River in 1911.