Two settlements with their residents have been transferred from Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan as part of the demarcation of the state border between the two countries.

Axar.az reports that Kyrgyz President’s press secretary, Askat Alagozov, made a statement on his Facebook page.

He said that the settlements in question are Chongara and Tash-Tobo villages, which were previously part of Uzbekistan’s Fergana region and are inhabited by around 2,500 ethnic Kyrgyz.

“Registration procedures will now be carried out in these two villages, and after their completion, residents will be granted citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic. In exchange for these settlements, the Kyrgyz side transferred land plots of equal size in the border area to Uzbekistan,” Alagozov said.

He added that an exchange of equal-sized land plots totaling 236 hectares was carried out for the construction of a road from Say village to Tayan village.

According to him, the project will allow residents of Kyrgyzstan’s Batken region to travel from Aydarken to Batken via Say and Tayan villages, covering around 55 kilometers instead of the current 225-kilometer detour.