Tajikistan, Pakistan cooperation growing in all fields, says envoy

Islamabad
Ambassador of Tajikistan Sherali Jononov has said relations between his country and Pakistan are growing in all fields adding these relations would surely get new dimensions in the coming days.
He expressed these views while talking to DNA on Tuesday.
The ambassador further said, “Let me begin with the recent visit of our State Minister for Reserves who visited Pakistan along with a delegation on December 22-23. During this visit both sides discussed various avenues of cooperation, especially cooperation in the energy sector”.
He added, a 5-member Tajikistan delegation led by Nurmahmad Akhmedov, Minister, Chairman Agency on State Material Reserves of Tajikistan, held a meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, discussing matters on enhancement of bilateral trade relations, particularly immediate import of sugar and wheat from Pakistan.
Nurmahmad Akhmedov also informed the Finance Minister that they had plans to import crude oil from Kuwait and avail refinery facilities of Pakistan before onward supply to Tajikistan.
Pakistan’s private sector companies he said were very active in Tajikistan and there were bright prospects of growth in trade and business linkages between the two countries.
Tajikistan is a landlocked country which needs better connectivity in the region. Bulk of Tajikistan’s trade takes place through railways and partly by road through Afghanistan. Tajikistan looked to Pakistan for facilitation in transportation.
Tajikistan also had plans to avail the facilities at Karachi and Gwadar Ports for trade. Tajikistan has been purchasing wheat, fertiliser and sugar from Pakistan and wished to continue that in future. With the realisation of the Pak-Afghan-Tajikistan transit trade agreement, trade between these countries and in the region would flourish.
Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif told our delegation that the gas, road, railways and transmission line link between Tajikistan and Pakistan is necessary for the economic interests of the two countries. Our delegation was comprised of Minister of State for Reserves of Tajikistan, Nurmahmad Akhmedov and other officials.
Let me tell you that the Islamic Republic of Pakistan established diplomatic relationship with the Republic of Tajikistan in 1992 but cooperation between our two countries started from 1991. Geographically Tajikistan is the nearest Central Asian State to Pakistan -- there is only fourteen kilometres between two countries.
Following the acquisition of Tajikistan's independence, our bilateral relations have entered a new phase. Pakistan is one the first countries who recognised the independence of Tajikistan and established diplomatic ties with it, and opened its embassy in Dushanbe in 1993. The Republic of Tajikistan opened its diplomatic mission in Pakistan four years later, in 1997. Thus, bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries started developing in different fields.
Tajikistan and Pakistan together took part in settlement of regional issues, contribute to building up integration processes within the Organisation of Economic Corporation, the Conference for the mutual confidence of the Asian countries and the Shanghai Corporation Organisation.
Pakistan really can be a gateway of the Central Asia for trade and commerce and that would be a tremendous source of revenue from the states of this region. From the Pakistan point-of-view, and equally, it would provide opportunities for Central Asian states such as Tajikistan, to boost cheaper exports, the ambassador added.
While giving a brief account of bilateral cooperation to cope with the menace of terrorism, the ambassador said indeed terrorism, drug trafficking, religious extremism and other transnational crimes pose serious challenges before any country, particularly in our region, and to combat them requires cross-border collaborations.
Both sides work on countering regional terrorism, drug trafficking, religious extremism and ensuring stability and security in Asia. Our law-enforcement authorities have a good cooperation links for dealing with all these, so-called “modern threats”.
Tajikistan, he said, is in a dire need of access to the world through Pakistani port like Gwadar. For the advancement of the communication projects, the government has adopted strategy to construct new highways and bridges to link Tajikistan with neighbouring countries.
Opening the highways of Kulob-Khorugh-Kulma-Karakorum, Istiqlol Tunnel, 4 bridges between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, reconstruction of Dushanbe-Qurghonteppa highway and also the construction of Dushanbe-Nurobod-Jirgatol-Saritosh are considered as positive steps for the communication advancement.