Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan relations refers to the relations between the neighbouring Republic of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

and Republic of

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

. Kazakhstan has an Embassy in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...

and a Consulate General in Samarkand. Uzbekistan has an Embassy in

Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...

and have Consulates General in Almaty and

Aktau Aktau ( kk, Aqtau, Ақтау , russian: Актау) is a city in Kazakhstan, located on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. Its current name means "white mountain" in Kazakh, which may be due to its cliffs that overlook the Caspian. From 1964 to ...

. Bilateral relations were elevated from a strategic partnership to an alliance in 2021.

History

Both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were part of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

before its official

dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

in 1991. In 2017, President

Shavkat Mirziyoyev Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev (Uzbek Latin: ''Shavkat Miromonovich (Miromon o‘g‘li) Mirziyoyev'', Uzbek Cyrillic: Шавкат Миромонович (Миромон ўғли) Мирзиёев ; born 24 July 1957) is an Uzbek politician ...

began to improve relations with Kazakhstan. 2018 was declared the "Year of Uzbekistan in Kazakhstan". On 27 November 2018, the President

Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev ( kk, Нұрсұлтан Әбішұлы Назарбаев, Nūrsūltan Äbişūlı Nazarbaev, ; born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, in off ...

said: "Today our relationship is at a good level. We meet with Shavkat Mirziyoyev several times a year and discuss all pressing issues in the field of economic and political cooperation".

Visits

Former Uzbek President of Uzbekistan

Islam Karimov Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov ( uz, Islom Abdugʻaniyevich Karimov / Ислом Абдуғаниевич Каримов, italics=no; russian: link=no, Ислам Абдуганиевич Каримов; 30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was t ...

has visited Kazakhstan several times. The same can also be said for former Kazakh president

visiting Tashkent. On 15 April 2019, the Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Mirziyoyev opened the Year of Kazakhstan in Uzbekistan during the former's visit to

. Tokayev noted that "We are connected by a single language, religion, common history and one destiny. Our peoples are the heirs of the ancient and great civilization of Central Asia".

Border

At the start of the 21st century, 96% of the

international border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan had been determined. In 2001, after mutual agreements, the border line in only three

disputed area A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of land between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial disputes are often related to the possession of natural resources su ...

s (Bagys, Arnasai and Nsan) remained undrawn. By September 2002, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan had fully resolved the course of their 2,440 km-long shared border.

Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan barrier

On 19 October 2006, Kazakhstan built 45 km-long

barrier A barrier or barricade is a physical structure which blocks or impedes something. Barrier may also refer to: Places * Barrier, Kentucky, a community in the United States * Barrier, Voerendaal, a place in the municipality of Voerendaal, Netherl ...

along part of its border with Uzbekistan. The Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan barrier spans the Saryagash and Maktaaral administrative districts of southern Kazakhstan, and consists of a 2,5m-high barbed wire fence that includes

searchlight A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direc ...

s. The barrier is situated along the heavily populated towns and cities of eastern Uzbekistan. It was built to curb

drug smuggling The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...

across the border.

Ambassadors

Ambassadors of Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan

* Saylau Batyrsha-uly (1993-1994) * Nazhameden Iskaliev (1994-1997) * Umirzak Uzbekov (1997-2003) * Tleukhan Kabdrakhmanov (2003-2006) *

Askar Myrzakhmetov Askar Myrzakhmetov ( kk, Асқар Исабекұлы Мырзахметов, ''Asqar İsabekūly Myrzahmetov'') is a Kazakh politician who held the positions of Counsellor of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan and First Vice Minister of Agricultu ...

(2006-2007) * Zautbek Turisbekov (2007-2009) * Boribay Zheksembin (2010-2015) *

Yerik Utembayev Yerik may refer to: People * Yerik Asanbayev Erik Magzumuly Asanbayev ( kk, Ерік Мағзұмұлы Асанбаев, ''Erık Mağzūmūly Asanbaev''; 10 March 1936 – 23 August 2004) was a Kazakh statesman and vice-president of the Republ ...

(2016-2019) * Darkhan Satybaldy (since 2019)

Ambassadors of Uzbekistan in Kazakhstan

* Ikrom Nazarov (2016-2018) * Saidikram Niyazkhodzhaev (since 2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan relations

Bilateral relations of Uzbekistan