DUSHANBE, March 29, Asia-Plus – A joint Task Force, consisting of the OSCE Chairmanship, Secretariat, OSCE Center in Dushanbe and Tajik Government officials, met in Dushanbe on March 27.
The meeting provided a unique opportunity to identify, in a joint effort, priorities and needs of Tajikistan and to ensure their reflection in future activities of the OSCE in the country.
Aleksandr Sodiqov, Media Assistant at the OSCE Center in Dushanbe, said that prior to the meeting the Director of the Conflict Prevention Center, Ambassador Herbert Salber and Acting Head of the OSCE Center in Dushanbe, Mr. Klaus Rasmussen, were received by the Foreign Minister, Hamrokhon Zaripov, to discuss the future development of the OSCE in Tajikistan, where the Organization established its first presence in 1994. Both sides agreed that the OSCE made a valuable contribution to Tajikistan”s transition period and that it now has to focus on new challenges facing Tajikistan and the region.
In his opening statement, the First Deputy Foreign Minister, Saymoumin Yatimov, considered the OSCE to be “an important instrument of assisting Tajikistan in its efforts on providing security, including the fight against terrorism, religious extremism, illicit drug trafficking and other transnational threats and challenges”.
Ambassador Salber underlined: “We are here in a listening mode, to hear what the priorities of the Government are and discuss ways in which the OSCE can support you based on the Organization”s comprehensive approach to security”.
In the discussion it became obvious that OSCE assistance on issues related to border security, but also economic and ecological problems have to be addressed. Both sides agreed to continue this dialogue in a spirit of partnership.
Representative from Tajik MFA concluded that the meeting was “a particularly constructive dialogue between the Government and the OSCE*, and referred to the meeting as historic.
