Tajik president to arrive in Pakistan tomorrow on two-day visit

ISLAMABAD: Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon will pay a two-day visit to Pakistan starting on June 2 (tomorrow) at the invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation. During the visit, Prime Minister Khan and President Rahmon will lead their respective sides in delegation-level talks.

The two sides will exchange views on deepening bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, including political, economic, trade, investment, energy, security and defence, culture, education and regional connectivity. A number of Agreements and MoUs are expected to be signed during the visit.

The visiting dignitary will separately meet with President Dr. Arif Alvi.

“Pakistan and Tajikistan enjoy close brotherly relations underpinned by commonalty of faith, shared history and cultural affinities,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

“These ties are characterised by mutual respect, shared perceptions and a common desire to promote peace, stability and development in the region.”

“The two countries share common views on major regional and international issues and cooperate closely at various multilateral fora,” the statement read.

Tajikistan is the current chair of SCO. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi visited Dushanbe in March 2021 to attend the ministerial meeting of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HoA-IP), followed by his bilateral visit to Tajikistan.

On May 25, 2021, the two sides held the 5th round of Pakistan-Tajikistan Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) at the level of Foreign Secretary/First Deputy Foreign Minister and reviewed the whole gamut of bilateral relations.

Both Pakistan and Tajikistan are part of the CASA-1000 Transmission line Project along with Kyrgyz Republic and Afghanistan. The power project envisages the transportation of surplus electric power from Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan to Pakistan (1000 MW) and Afghanistan (300 MW).

President Rahmon has visited Pakistan seven times since 1994. His last bilateral visit was in November 2015.