DUSHANBE, February 28, Asia-Plus – A delegation from the British Embassy, led by the British Ambassador Mr. Graeme Loten, is spending three days in and around Kulob this week. Their program will take in visits to Danghara, Vose, Kulob and Farkhor. The Embassy delegation will be spending March 1 in Danghara and Dose districts, March 2 in the city of
Kulob
and March 3 in Farkhor.
The purpose of the visit is for them to meet with some of the local leaders, familiarize themselves with some of the current issues in these districts, visit some projects funded by the British Embassy, and look at the ways in which local schools are teaching the English language.
“Kulob, with its jubilee celebrations, will be a center of attention for the whole of
Tajikistan
this year, so we thought it important to take a look at the situation in the city and in the surrounding districts,” the British Ambassador said. Britain already has several links with this region, through the work of the British NGO ‘Oxfam’, the establishment of the Legal Support Center in Kulob under a DFID program, and a river-bank strengthening project being implemented by ‘Mission East’ and paid for by the Embassy. The delegation will be visiting all these program.
They also plan to meet with representatives of civil society, the media and political parties functioning in Kulob. “An active civil society is always a healthy sign for any community, and it is important that they are encouraged to play their full part in the country’s development,” Mr. Loten noted.
The final day of the visit will be spent in Farkhor, which the Ambassador will be visiting for the first time. As the
United Kingdom
is a major contributor to the European Union’s border management program (BOMCA) on the Tajik-Afghan border the delegation will be showing particular interest in the activities of the Tajik law-enforcement agencies in countering the cross-border smuggling of narcotics.
