Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov proposed that Central Asian countries should adopt a visa-free among themselves and announce a Central Asian Schengen after the agreement on the state border was signed with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
The idea of a common Silk Road Visa was born in 2018, when Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan signed agreements on mutual recognition of visas. The Uzbek authorities then said that Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were interested in a common visa, while Turkmenistan was still considering the matter. Kazakhstan also proposed involving Azerbaijan and Turkey in this project.
In 2020, it was reported that the document was on the way, although these plans were hampered by the COVID pandemic, and there were still questions about the project that the countries planned to agree on among themselves.
In 2022, there were media reports that Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan were continuing to discuss the Central Asian Schengen.
Sadyr Japarov also noted in his statement that the resolution of the border issue between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which remained unresolved for 101 years (since 1924), is a major event not only for the two countries, but for all of Central Asia.
"Now we can say that all countries in the region have finally settled their border issues among themselves. From this moment on, eternal peace has been established in Central Asia," the President of Kyrgyzstan emphasized.
The signed agreement will be submitted for ratification to the Zhogorku Kenesh on March 19.
