Water cooperation between Kazakhstan and Israel in 2024–2026

Cooperation on water predates 2025

Recent news alone might suggest that Kazakhstan–Israel cooperation on water began with the dedicated memorandum signed in 2025. The treaty history goes back much further.

The environmental protection agreement, signed on 27 December 1995 and effective from 19 October 1998, explicitly identified water resource management and protection as an area of bilateral cooperation.

The agricultural document signed that year was more specific. It listed irrigation technologies and systems, methods of obtaining drinking water, particularly in rural areas, and the treatment of waste from urban water supply systems and wastewater. Irrigation, drinking water and reuse were therefore part of the bilateral agenda almost from the outset.

The new agricultural agreement, signed in 2016 and effective from 2021, separately included water-saving technologies and specialist training.

Water has been part of the treaty framework since the 1990s. In 2024–2026, it became a distinct area of negotiations, work between ministries and project preparation.

Exchanges of expertise preceded the current projects

Training also has an earlier history.

An official Kazakhstan embassy overview states that more than 300 Kazakhstani specialists have trained in Israel since 1993 with support from MASHAV, Israel's international cooperation agency. Water resource management was one of several fields. The total must not be presented as a count of water specialists: it also includes medicine, journalism, educational technology, agriculture and small business.

The combined figure establishes that water was among the training subjects, but does not give the number of participants in water programmes specifically.

Investment discussions began in August 2024

On 8 August 2024, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation reported talks between Nurzhan Nurzhigitov and a consortium of Israeli water management companies led by representatives of Value LBH and Dan Capital.

Participants discussed reservoir construction and reconstruction, flood forecasting and protection systems, water-saving technologies, water treatment and reuse, drinking water quality control, automation of water distribution and accounting, and workforce training.

The Israeli companies expressed their willingness to participate in reservoir construction and reconstruction, including through investment. Kazakhstan proposed a working group for the planned projects.

This was the starting point for the current project discussions. The report establishes investment interest and negotiations, rather than the start of construction.

It identified no approved budgets, specific construction contracts, dates for work to begin or commissioned facilities.

The first confirmed technical result came in January 2025

By early 2025, the discussions had moved beyond a list of possible areas of work.

On 27 January, the ministry reported that Israeli engineers had already inspected four Kazakhstani reservoirs and prepared recommendations for their reconstruction. The parties also discussed reconstruction and increased capacity at the Yntaly reservoir in Zhambyl Region, and modernisation of irrigation canals in Sarysu District using water-saving technologies.

This establishes a specific result. Engineers inspected four reservoirs and prepared recommendations for their reconstruction.

The next stage nevertheless remained under discussion. The ministry explicitly stated that discussions would continue through the joint working group and that experts would examine the technical aspects of the project. An inspection of four facilities cannot be treated as proof that four reservoirs have been reconstructed. Kazakhstani sources separately establish that reconstruction of the Yntaly reservoir is a government project and continued in 2025. The current comprehensive plan lists reconstruction of Yntaly, together with the Ters-Ashchybulak and Karakonyz reservoirs, among projects scheduled for commissioning in the fourth quarter of 2027, with funding from the national budget and an international financial institution.

The January talks with Israel therefore do not establish that Yntaly's reconstruction originated in bilateral cooperation, is funded by Israel or is being carried out by an Israeli contractor. They establish only that the parties discussed the existing facility, its reconstruction and a possible increase in capacity.

The same meeting included a proposal for advanced training courses in Israel for Kazvodkhoz specialists. At that point, this was a proposal, rather than a completed programme.

Why Kazakhstan is interested in Israeli expertise

Kazakhstan's interest in Israeli solutions extends beyond diplomatic relations.

The OECD describes Israel as a country under very high water stress that compensates for limited natural freshwater through large-scale desalination and reuse of treated wastewater. According to the OECD review, more than 87% of treated wastewater is reused, primarily in agriculture. Five desalination plants supply more than 80% of urban domestic water needs unrelated to irrigation.

This experience also has limitations. The same OECD review identifies continuing surface water and groundwater pollution, incomplete achievement of tertiary wastewater treatment targets, and the environmental costs of desalination.

Kazakhstan's discussions with Israeli agencies and companies cover water reuse, managing scarcity, digital monitoring, reducing losses, irrigation, treatment and infrastructure.

The water memorandum was signed on 11 November 2025

A further step came in November 2025.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and Israel's Ministry of Regional Cooperation signed a dedicated memorandum of understanding and cooperation on water resource management.

The document covers modernisation of water infrastructure, efficient water use, water-saving technologies, water reuse, exchanges of innovative and technological expertise, data collection and processing using remote sensing, digital accounting and monitoring, flood and drought risk management, scientific and technical cooperation, and specialist training.

It established a specialised framework between ministries for the water sector, extending beyond talks with one group of investors or an agricultural provision in an older agreement.

The memorandum sets out areas and mechanisms for cooperation. It does not establish that particular facilities have been completed under that framework.

Specialist training moved from proposals to practice

The training discussions gradually led to actual activity.

In September 2026, the Ministry of Water Resources reported that overseas internships had been organised for Kazakhstani water specialists since the start of the year, including in Israel. It also recalled that a total of 14 specialists took courses in South Korea, Germany and Israel in 2023.

The official publication does not give a breakdown of the 2026 internship participants by host country. The available information establishes that Kazakhstani specialists undertook internships in Israel in 2026, but does not allow an exact count for the Israeli programme.

This marks a change from January 2025, when training for Kazvodkhoz specialists was still being discussed as a proposal.

Mekorot and the commercial memorandum following consultations

Israel's state-owned water company Mekorot has a separate role.

The company states that it has been expanding its Central Asian activities since 2024 and has begun providing services in Kazakhstan. For Kazakhstan, Mekorot identifies long-term water sector planning, management and operational control technologies, modernisation of water systems, loss reduction and work on climate risks.

Mekorot reports advisory and technological work in Kazakhstan. That information alone does not establish the construction of a particular facility.

On 21 January 2026, a Mekorot delegation visited Turkistan Region. Discussions with the regional administration covered efficient water resource management, infrastructure development and digitalisation of drinking water supply. The regional report records only the parties' interest and an agreement to consider joint project opportunities.

Six days later, on 27 January, a memorandum was signed at the Kazakhstan–Israel business forum on cooperation in modernising housing, utilities and water infrastructure, involving Mekorot Development & Enterprises Ltd.

The company began work and consultations first, regional talks followed, and the parties then signed the commercial memorandum. As of 22 September 2026, the available sources contain no confirmation that a particular modernised facility was commissioned under that January memorandum.

At this stage, the company reports advisory services, the memorandum has been signed, and individual regional projects remain under development.

Value LBH appears in two water initiatives

Value LBH took part in the 2024 reservoir discussions. In 2026, the company appeared in a separate regional initiative.

In July, the governor of Pavlodar Region met Value LBH representatives. The company is considering a manufacturing and service complex in the Pavlodar special economic zone to produce plastic and metal components for mobile wastewater treatment facilities.

The report states that the company is considering whether to implement the project.

This is neither an operating factory nor confirmed construction. It remains a prospective project. Its subsequent status requires evidence of an investment agreement, a site, funding, construction and commissioning.

Water infrastructure and agriculture

Water-saving technologies also recur in agricultural cooperation.

The 1995 agreement included irrigation systems. The 2016 document established water-saving technologies as an area of cooperation. The 2025 memorandum also includes their introduction in agriculture among the areas of joint work.

The two fields overlap here. Water cooperation covers infrastructure, accounting, reuse, reservoirs, treatment, monitoring, digitalisation and resource management. Agricultural cooperation covers the use of irrigation and other technologies on individual farms, agricultural technology projects, crop and livestock production, and training for agricultural specialists.

A common document may cover both fields, but that does not make water infrastructure and an individual agricultural application a single project.

Confirmed results of water cooperation

As of 22 September 2026, open sources distinguish several stages.

Work performed

• Israeli engineers inspected four reservoirs and prepared recommendations;
• Mekorot reports that it is providing water sector management advisory services in Kazakhstan;
• Kazakhstani water specialists undertook overseas internships in 2026, including in Israel.

Formal agreements

• the November 2025 water memorandum between Kazakhstani and Israeli ministries;
• the January 2026 memorandum on modernising utilities and water infrastructure involving Mekorot.

Projects under further consideration

• possible Israeli participation in reconstructing and expanding the Yntaly reservoir;
• modernisation of irrigation canals in Sarysu District as part of the discussions;
• individual joint Mekorot projects in Turkistan Region;
• Value LBH's manufacturing and service complex in Pavlodar Region;
• the broader reservoir investment package discussed with the Israeli consortium.

This breakdown identifies which projects are involved and what stage they have reached, providing more information than the general statement that Kazakhstan and Israel are implementing joint water projects.

From inspections to implementation

The current water cooperation has passed through several stages.

An investment and project agenda emerged in 2024. The first engineering inspections of individual facilities were confirmed in early 2025. A dedicated framework between ministries followed in November 2025. In January 2026, regional talks with Mekorot were followed by a commercial memorandum. Specialist internships continued during 2026, while Value LBH began discussing a separate manufacturing project in Pavlodar Region.

This goes beyond diplomatic declarations, but has yet to become a portfolio of commissioned joint facilities.

The number of meetings does not measure a project's progress. Work on a facility proceeds through inspection, design, funding, contracting, the start of work, commissioning and measurement of results.

Water Resources–Marketing also describes an agreement dated 27 January 2026 with the Turkistan regional administration, Mekorot and a Kazakhstani utilities partner. The company reports that, following the meetings, the region's water management problems were analysed and proposals prepared. This establishes project preparation, rather than commissioning of modernised facilities. 16

In brief

• 1995. The environmental agreement included water resource management and protection. The agricultural agreement mentions irrigation, drinking water and wastewater.
• 2016 and 2021. The new agricultural agreement established water-saving technologies and specialist training as areas of cooperation. It was signed in 2016 and entered into force in 2021.
• 8 August 2024. Value LBH, Dan Capital and other Israeli participants discussed reservoirs, floods, treatment, water reuse, accounting and training. A project agenda emerged, but construction was not established.
• 27 January 2025. Israeli engineers inspected four reservoirs and prepared recommendations. The parties also discussed the Yntaly reservoir and Sarysu District canals. Yntaly's reconstruction belongs to a separate Kazakhstani government project. Open sources do not establish that Israel is financing it or serving as the main contractor.
• 11 November 2025. The relevant ministries signed a dedicated water resource management memorandum.
• 21 January 2026. Mekorot discussed water management, infrastructure and digitalisation in Turkistan Region. Joint projects remained under consideration.
• 27 January 2026. A memorandum on modernising utilities and water infrastructure was signed with the participation of Mekorot Development & Enterprises.
• 2026. The Ministry of Water Resources confirmed internships for Kazakhstani specialists in Israel, without publishing a separate participant count for that country.
• July 2026. Value LBH is considering a manufacturing and service complex for mobile wastewater treatment facilities in Pavlodar Region. This is a prospective project, rather than an operating production facility.