The Tajikistan-Uzbekistan working group on the integrated use of transboundary water resources in Central Asia held a meeting in Tajikistan. The main issue under discussion was the prospects for using the water from Lake Sarez to provide the region with clean drinking water, the press office of the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan reported.
The meeting was chaired by Minister of Energy and Water Resources of Tajikistan Daler Juma and Minister of Water Resources of Uzbekistan Shavkat Khamraev. Other officials responsible for promoting water management cooperation attended the meeting.
The idea of using the water of Lake Sarez as a source of drinking water was put forward at the talks between the leaders of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan Emomali Rahmon and Shavkat Mirziyoyev in 2018.
The two leaders instructed the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation to assess the possibility of using this resource.
Lake Sarez is located in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan at an altitude of about 3,000 metres above sea level. It appeared after a strong earthquake in February 1911. Fallen rocks and landslides blocked the Bartang River.
