DUSHANBE, June 4, 2013, Asia-Plus – On Monday June 3, Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi met here with France’s Ambassador to Tajikistan Didier Leroy, according tot eh Tajik MFA information department.
The two reportedly discussed a broad range of issue related to state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and France, including an official opening of Tajik Embassy in Paris and construction of control tower and international terminal at Dushanbe International Airport.
In the course of the talks, the sides also touched upon the issue of withdrawal of a French contingent from Tajikistan by 2014, the source said.
We will recall that Tajik news agencies reported last month that French troops in Dushanbe who have been performing repair and maintenance on NATO aircraft on route to or from Afghanistan will leave Tajikistan by July 1. The French contingent has been stationed at the airport since December 2001, providing support for foreign troops in neighboring Afghanistan.
According to the French Defense Ministry, nearly 11,000 flights in support of French forces in Afghanistan left the Dushanbe airport since French troops were deployed there and that some 89,000 NATO troops and 14,500 tons of cargo transited the Dushanbe airport.
