DUSHAMBE, Tajikistan: President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon on Wednesday said that his government would make every effort to expand bilateral relations with Pakistan especially in trade and economic besides culture and tourism sectors.
The Tajik President said this in a meeting with Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who is currently in Dushambe on a two-day official visit.
Talking to Pakistani delegation, President Emomali Rahmon emphasized that “Tajikistan positively evaluates the friendly relations and beneficial cooperation with Pakistan and will make every effort to develop and expand them.”
President of Tajikistan appreciated the vision of Pakistani leadership, especially with reference to develop economic ties with the central Asian States with special emphasis to Tajikistan.
During the meeting Federal Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif who went to Tajikistan for participating in the Pak-Tajik Joint Commission stated that indeed the state visit of the President of Tajikistan to Pakistan which took place recently was very substantial and yielded a lot of positive results.
Both the sides considered necessary the activities of Joint Working Group of Tajikistan and Pakistan on Energy and Infrastructure Cooperation established upon common decision of heads of both states and expressed satisfaction over the progress in this regard.
During the conversation, both the sides discussed the issues of cooperation on the construction of Central Asia – South Asia CASA-1000 for exporting 1000 MW electricity to Pakistan, automobile roads, railways and resumption of air communication between the two countries.
They discussed various incentives for increasing participation of Pakistani companies in the investment into different projects in the fields of energy, oil, gas and mineral extraction in Tajikistan.
Matters including attraction of Tajikistani companies in the implementation of various projects in Pakistan, cooperation in the strengthening of defense potential and combating terrorism were also discussed in the meeting, the statement said.
Khawaja Muhammad Asif extended the condolences of the Government and people of Pakistan on behalf of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the consequences of natural disasters in Badakhshan and offered the humanitarian assistance allocated by Pakistan.
The Pakistani delegation, headed by Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif also met various ministers during stay in Dushambe, the capital of Tajikistan, besides participating in the meeting of the Pak-Tajik Joint Commission and Working groups.
Later, the delegation left for Kyrgyzstan on one day official visit on the invitation of the Kyrgyz government. The delegation will discuss bilateral future trade and economic prospects besides finalising the import of 300 MW electricity from Kyrgyzstan through Tajikistan and Afghanistan.
Source: APP
