DUSHANBE, February 22, Asia-Plus — A tripartite meeting of foreign ministers of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran will be held in Dushanbe on March 25-26, according to the Tajik MFA.
The tripartite meeting has been initiated by Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi. Zarifi and his Afghan (Rangin Dadfar) and Iranian (Manouchehr Mottaki) counterparts are supposed to discuss issues related to preparation of a meeting of heads of state of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran, which is scheduled to be held in the Tajik capital this year.
The ministers are also planned to discuss joint energy projects and the possibility of construction of highway and railway from Tajikistan via Afghanistan to Iran.
Cultural cooperation will also be one of one major topics of the ministerial meeting in Dushanbe.
The sides will discuss celebrations to mark the 1150 anniversary of founder of the Tajik-Persian classic literature Abu Abdullo Rudaki.
The establishment of a joint Persian-language TV channel is also on the agenda of the ministerial meeting.
We will recall that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proposed to launch the joint TV channel during his visit to Tajikistan in July 2006. According to him, the joint TV channel could broadcast on the territories of Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan. This joint television will be dedicated to facilitate dissemination of culture of the Persian-speaking countries, he said.
