OMM Newsroom
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has allocated $10 million to reinforce the Afghan bank of the Amu Darya River. The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) announced the funding on Tuesday after talks in Balkh province, AnewZ reported.
The meeting was attended by Balkh provincial governor Mohammad Yusuf Wafa and Ulugbek Kosimov, governor of Uzbekistan’s neighboring Surkhandarya province. ACCI said the project was proposed following a request from Wafa.
“The Balkh governor had earlier proposed a project to prevent erosion caused by changes in the river’s course and the loss of Afghan territory,” Wafa said.
The river’s changing course threatens farmland
The Amu Darya forms much of Afghanistan’s northern border and supplies irrigation water to farming communities. Seasonal floods and changes in the river’s course have also damaged homes, farmland and irrigation canals.
A study published in 2021 in the scientific journal “Geodetski List” found that between 1990 and 2020, parts of the Amu Darya shifted about three kilometers toward Afghanistan, damaging agricultural land along the river.
Communities living along the river depend on farming and livestock for their livelihoods. Flood damage to land and crops therefore affects their incomes.
Demand for the river’s water for irrigation is also rising. Afghanistan’s Qosh Tepa canal project, designed to divert water, has raised concerns about water resources downstream.
Trade and transport issues also discussed at meeting
The sides discussed difficulties faced by Afghan exporters and traders transporting goods through Uzbekistan, as well as railway issues and dedicated transport routes.
ACCI said it expected Uzbek traders to visit Afghanistan in the future. “The sides also agreed that a delegation of Uzbek traders would visit Afghanistan to explore opportunities to buy and import Afghan agricultural products, particularly apples and pomegranates.”
The meeting was also attended by Afghanistan’s minister of agriculture, irrigation and livestock, Ataullah Omari; Uzbekistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, Ismatullah Irgashev; and ACCI Chairman Sayed Karim Hashemi.
The implementation timeline for the riverbank reinforcement project has not been announced.
