DUSHANBE, May 17, Asia-Plus — State and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan were discussed at a meeting of President Emomali Rahmon with visiting Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Ednan Karabayev in Dushanbe today.
Speaking to journalists after a meeting with President Rahmon, Karabayev said that their talks had focused mainly on three directions: interstate cooperation; water-energy policy and border issues.
On the interstate cooperation between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz minister assessed it as positive and named Tajik-Kyrgyz economic commission “one of the most effective.”
“We introduced a motion to set up Tajik-Kyrgyz Interstate Council as well as the Council of Foreign Ministers of the two countries that could be mechanism for implementation of the Interstate Council’s resolutions,” Karabayev said.
Dwelling on the water-energy policy, Kyrgyz minister stressed that Kyrgyzstan fully supports President Ramon’s proposal to set up Central Asian water-energy consortium. “By the way, I had earlier proposed to establish international water-energy academy and hold international water-energy summit as continuation of Tajik president’s proposal,” Karabayev said, noting that other countries of the region could also participate in realization of these two proposals.
The minister noted that Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan share the same stances on the energy issue. “We, water-supplying states, consider water as factor of integration but not as bone of contention,” Karabayev said.
On the border issues, Karabayev said that the sides had to date defined nearly 482 kilometers of a 970-kolometer common border. “There is mutual understanding between our countries in this issue,” the minister noted.
Commenting on Kazakh president’s proposal to establish the Central Asian Union, Kyrgyz minister noted that “conceptually, that proposal is not so far from President Rahmon’s proposal.”
Reminding that the next SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) summit will be held in Bishkek on June 16, Karabayev said that after the summit Kyrgyzstan looks forward for an official of Tajik president.
