DUSHANBE, June 7, Asia-Plus – Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi yesterday received visiting Swedish Ambassador to Tajikistan Hans Olsson at his request, according to Tajik.
Olsson is Sweden’s diplomatic representative for Russia and Tajikistan.
In the course of the talks the two discussed state and prospects of cooperation between Tajikistan and Sweden.
Tajik minister appreciated Sweden’s participation in projects aimed at providing humanitarian and technical assistance to Tajikistan. Both sides vowed to promote expansion of bilateral trade, which currently did not correspondent to its real potential.
During the meeting, Zarifi and Olsson also exchanged views on a number of regional issues being of mutual interest.
Diplomatic relations between Tajikistan and Sweden were established in 1992.
Report posted on the Tajik MFA website said that in 1997, Sweden provided 174 tons of food products and medicines to Tajikistan.
Since 2002, cooperation between the two countries has become more active, especially in the humanitarian sphere. Sweden has supported projects for development of civil society in Tajikistan, enhancement of agrarian sector, creation of opportunities for development of self-sufficiency of the Tajik population, and implementation of the national poverty reduction strategy.
The first export/import operations between Tajikistan and Sweden were launched in 2001. In 2005, a two-way trade between the two countries amounted to $78,000. In 2006, the trade between Tajikistan and Sweden amounted to $250,000.
