Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan slowly resume trade

Two months after the reopening of the border, both countries are still waiting for cross-border customers to return to their local markets in frontier areas. Mutual distrust and suspicion remain palpable, but both some traders and local authorities believe that the economy will soon take a turn for the better.

Dushanbe (AsiaNews) – Two months after the official reopening of the border between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, local populations are waiting for the revival of the large frontier markets – a long-standing tradition that dates back to Soviet times. So far, at the Chorkukh market in the Tajik city of Isfara, Kyrgyz customers are nowhere to be seen, and a similar situation is reported on the other side of the border at the Kyrgyz market of Arka. These two locations, once bustling with activity and commercial exchange before conflict broke out between the two countries, now lie unusually quiet.

The daily Chorkukh bazaar was not just a place of trade – it was a meeting point for neighbours, a hub for exchanging opinions, news, and mutual support. All of this came to a halt during the border clashes of 2021 and 2022. For years, the disputed territories were the scene of dramatic conflicts, with dozens killed and injured on both sides. The border was closed, and relations between the two countries entered a prolonged state of hostility, even in the absence of active fighting. People who had lived side by side peacefully for decades, mingling freely across ethnic lines and shared interests, were abruptly separated, left with a sense of loss and confinement. Now, many recall those days with nostalgia, hoping to usher in a new era of friendship.

Tilobaton Kurbonoda, a merchant at Chorkukh, told Radio Ozodi about the days when he would welcome Kyrgyz customers every week. “Even though the border is open now, people are still afraid to cross it,” he said. Mavluda Kholikova, who works at the Khistevarz market, recalls her regular trips to Arka in Kyrgyzstan: “Every day I used to weave jackets and coats, hop on a bus and go to sell them. People would welcome me with joy, and I never came back empty-handed.” Residents of neighbouring towns – Borborduk in Kyrgyzstan and Khistevarz in Tajikistan – say they still feel an invisible barrier between them. Cross-border public transport has not been restored, border checkpoints remain strict, and the general atmosphere is still one of mutual distrust.

Another trader, Usmonboj Saidakhmadov, remains optimistic about the future: “God willing, we’ll start working together again, we’ll overcome all these fears. We live so close to each other, and that’s what matters most.” A similar hope is shared by Abdukhakim Rakhimov of the Khistevarz market: “We need to restore friendship and mutual understanding – life must go on.”

Authorities also believe the local economy is on the brink of a rebound. Khokimbek Nakhatzoda, a senior official in the Tajik regional administration, stated that “in the first four months of 2025 alone, trade turnover between the Sughd region and neighbouring areas of Kyrgyzstan reached 2.4 million US dollars – 28.3 times more than during the same period last year,” when cross-border trade was virtually non-existent. However, this growth has not yet been felt by local residents, as it mostly concerns wholesale operations, whereas retail trade still depends heavily on personal interaction, rather than on political and economic agreements.

Transport ministers from both countries are still in talks about restoring bus routes between Khujand and Osh, Khujand and Batken, Isfara and Batken, as well as reopening the Spitamen-Istiklol railway line – steps that could genuinely reopen the paths of friendship between Tajiks and Kyrgyz.