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Dushanbe, Tehran mull expansion of relations

11 September 2014 14:37 (UTC+04:00)
Dushanbe, Tehran mull expansion of relations

By Aynur Jafarova

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Tajik counterpart Emamali Rahmon discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries.

During the meeting of top officials held on September 10, Rouhani said strengthening of bilateral ties between the two nations and governments will serve common interests.

Rouhani, accompanied by a high-ranking political and economic delegation, including a number of cabinet members, departed Astana for Dushanbe on September 10 on the second leg of his five-day Central Asian tour. He will attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Following the talks, Iran and Tajikistan signed 10 bilateral cooperation agreements and issued a joint statement on enhancement of bilateral ties in different fields.

The documents signed by Rouhani and Rahmon included an agreement between the Institute of Persian language and the Institute of Tajik language, an agreement between foreign ministries, an agreement between police forces, an agreement between Iran's interior ministry and Tajikistan's organization for fighting drugs, and an agreement between chambers of commerce.

Speaking at a joint press conference Rouhani said strengthened ties between Tehran and Dushanbe will definitely benefit other governments and the entire region.

He highlighted the cultural and historical commonalities between Iran and Tajikistan, and said the common language spoken in the two countries has already paved the way for the expansion of tourism industry and increased efforts by businessmen, merchants and entrepreneurs to strengthen bilateral economic ties.

Later, President Rouhani and his Tajik counterpart jointly inaugurated the Sangtuda 2 hydropower plant via video conference.

Iran, the first nation to establish an embassy in Dushanbe after Tajikistan's independence in 1991, is the second biggest investor in the Central Asian state after China. According to Iran's Customs Administration, non-oil trade between Iran and Tajikistan amounted to $267.3 million in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2014. Iran exported $248.4 million of non-oil goods to Tajikistan and imported $18.9 million of non-oil goods from the country.

Iranian companies in Tajikistan are involved in several development projects in the country, including the construction of a dam, a hydroelectric power plant and a tunnel.

Iran and Tajikistan recently accelerated expansion of their ties and cooperation. Observers believe the good achievements gained in the area of their cooperation should be deemed as a result of the efforts made by the two countries' officials.

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