BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 27. Kazakhstan and Algeria discussed prospects for expanding bilateral cooperation in the water sector.
This was reflected in a press release published by Kazakhstan's Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation following a meeting between Minister Nurzhan Nurzhigitov and Algerian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Osman Mihadji in Astana.
"The participants in the meeting noted that both countries face similar challenges in the area of water conservation and distribution," the press release says.
According to the ministry, the Algerian delegation expressed interest in studying Kazakhstan's experience in the digitalization of water resources management.
The press release outlines that Algeria proposed launching pilot projects involving joint research by Kazakh and Algerian scientific institutions, as well as cooperation in industrial water use, desalination and groundwater development.
The parties also discussed developing a two-year roadmap for bilateral cooperation. According to the ministry, they agreed to establish a joint working group to advance the initiative, the ministry noted.
"Our countries have very similar shares of water consumption in industry and agriculture. Therefore, we are very interested in Algeria's experience in water conservation and distribution across economic sectors and the housing and utilities sector. We can also consider exchanges of specialists to study each other's experience in water management," Nurzhigitov said.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan has been accelerating reforms in the water sector in response to growing climate risks and water scarcity. In 2024, the country adopted the Water Resources Management System Development Concept through 2030 and the Comprehensive Water Sector Development Plan for 2024-2028. The plans envisage the construction of 42 reservoirs, the reconstruction of 37 hydraulic structures and 14,000 kilometers of irrigation canals.
In May 2026, Kazakhstan also launched Central Asia's first practical artificial precipitation enhancement (cloud seeding) project in the Turkistan Region with support from the UAE National Centre of Meteorology. The initiative aims to increase reservoir levels and improve water supply for more than 911,000 hectares of agricultural land affected by drought.
