Tajik President Emomali Rahmon is paying a two-day visit to Pakistan at the invitation of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Abdufattoh Sharifzoda, a spokesman for the Tajik President, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, the two sides will discuss the current state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Pakistan as well as a number of regional and international issues being of mutual interest.
A number of cooperation documents will be signed between the two countries in the fields finance, transportation, education and culture, Sharifzoda added.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan says that during the visit, Prime Minister Khan and President Rahmon will lead their respective sides in delegation-level talks.
The two sides will exchange views on deepening bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, including political, economic, trade, investment, energy, security and defense, culture, education and regional connectivity. A number of agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed during the visit.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon will separately meet with President Dr. Arif Alvi.
Tajikistan is the current chair of SCO. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi visited Dushanbe in March 2021 to attend the ministerial meeting of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process (HoA-IP), followed by his bilateral visit to Tajikistan.
On May 25, 2021, the two sides held the 5th round of Pakistan-Tajikistan Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) at the level of Foreign Secretary/First Deputy Foreign Minister and reviewed the whole gamut of bilateral relations.
Both Pakistan and Tajikistan are part of the CASA-1000 Transmission Line Project along with Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan. The power project envisages the transportation of surplus electric power from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to Pakistan (1000 MW) and Afghanistan (300 MW).
President Rahmon has visited Pakistan seven times since 1994. His last bilateral visit was in November 2015.
The Republic of Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan established diplomatic relations on June 6, 1992. Trade and cooperation has steadily grown between the two nations, with several summits being held on how to improve bilateral trade.
Tajikistan is separated from Pakistan by the 16-kilometer Wakhan Corridor in northeastern Afghanistan. This narrow strip of Afghan territory acts as a barrier between Pakistan and Central Asia, while stretching westwards to provide Afghanistan with a border to China.
The development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the larger One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative provides Pakistan access to Tajikistan from Gilgit-Baltistan via China using the Karakorum highway; therefore Pakistan is able to bypass Afghanistan to access Tajikistan. This also implies that Tajikistan is Pakistan’s nearest Central Asian neighbor and hence Pakistan’s gateway to Central Asia.
Besides mere geographical proximities, Pakistan and Tajikistan share many historical, religious, and cultural linkages.
Pakistan and Tajikistan share common membership in various multilateral organizations. Both are part of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as well as the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process.
