DUSHANBE, January 22m Asia-Plus – A state seven-day visit of Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov to China concluded on Sunday, January 21.
Rahmonov”s state visit to China as guest of Chinese President Hu Jintao started on January 15.
The visit resulted in signing of six documents in Beijing, including a friendship and cooperation treaty. According to presidential press service, the treaty creates additional favorable conditions for wide-ranging, mutually beneficial cooperation based on the confluence and closeness of strategic interests of the two countries.
The countries also signed five cooperation agreements in economic and technological spheres. Rahmonov and Hu also presided over the singing of other cooperation documents: an agreement. These five documents included an agreement between the governments of Tajikistan and China on technical-economic cooperation, an agreement on handover of mobile X-ray equipment, an agreement on aerial communication between Tajikistan and China, a supplementary protocol to an agreement between the education ministries and a supplementary principle agreement between central banks of the two countries.
On January 15, Rahmonov met with his Chinese counterpart, President Hu Jintao. Hu instructed the Chinese government to provide Tajikistan with 70 million yuans in no-strings aid.
On January 16, Rahmonov met in Beijing with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People”s Congress (NPC), China”s top legislative body.
The same day, Rahmonov attended a Chinese-Tajik business and investment forum in Beijing.
On January 17, Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov arrived in Sanya in China”s southernmost Hainan Province. The same day, Tajik president held talks with the Provincial governor Luo Baoming. Rahmonov stayed in the island province for five days.
Abdufattoh Sharipov, a spokesman for the president, said that during his stay in China, Rahmonov had also held talks with Lee Shlik (phonetically spelled), deputy head of China’s City Group. This company has an annual turnover of $100 billions. The sides discussed issues related to cooperation between Tajikistan and China in the field of railway transportation. During the meeting an agreement was reached that the company will delivery 23 new diesel locomotives to Tajikistan. The two also agreed that China will invest in the construction of the railway Dushanbe-Qurghon Teppa and Kolkhozobo-Panji Poyon. Besides, the rail route from Konibodom to Bekabad (Uzbekistan) will be provided the state-of-the-art electrical equipment.
Rahmonov’s discussions with top managers from China’s Exim (export-import) Bank focused on the implementation of energy, light industry and food industry projects in Tajikistan. The bank expressed readiness to invest in the implementation of not only the intergovernmental projects but also projects launched by businessmen of the two countries.
China”s Sinohydro Corporation has been awarded a contract to build a large hydroelectric plant in northern Tajikistan. The relevant contract was signed in Beijing on January 17. The project will be funded through a $200 million, low-interest Chinese loan. The Zarafshon plant should produce some 600 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year.
Murodali Alimardonov, head of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), and Yo Zun (phonetically spelled), first deputy head of China Development Bank (CDB), signed an agreement on currency and opening of the NBT representative office in China and the CDB representative office in Tajikistan.
During his stay in China, Rahmonov also met with senior representatives from Alcatel Shanghai Bell to discuss telecommunications cooperation issues. Two projects on cooperation of this company with Tajikistan’s Tojiktelecom and Railways are currently under consideration. Alcatel Shanghai Bell intends to invest $20 million in providing the railway Qurghon Teppa-Kulob with the state-of-the art communication means.
The telecommunications cooperation issues were also major topics of a meeting of Rahmonov with leaders of China’s ZTI. The company intends install distant learning technologies systems at two higher educational institutions in Tajikistan in no-strings-attached aid.
Tajik president also met with leaders of China’s China Road and Bridge to discussed a progress of the reconstruction of the highway form Dushanbe to Chanak (Uzbek city on the border) and the road from Ayni to Panjakent in the Tajik northern province of Sughd.
Both China and Tajikistan are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a regional security bloc that also includes Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Tajikistan is the largest beneficiary of China”s $900 million of preferential export loans to SCO member states.
