DUSHANBE, September 25, 2009, Asia-Plus — President Emomali Rahmon yesterday held negotiations with the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in New York on sidelines of the 54th session of the UN General Assembly.
According to presidential press service, the two discussed a broad range of issues related to bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the United States as well as the present situation in Afghanistan.
President Rahmon, in particular, stressed that Tajikistan attached significance to expansion of many-sided cooperation with the United States.
For her part, Mrs. Hillary Clinton expressed gratitude to Tajik leader for comprehensive support for her country’s efforts to establish peace and stability in Afghanistan
In the course of the talks, the sides expressed satisfaction with the present level of cooperation between the two countries on many issues and noted that Tajikistan that was on the front line of the fight against terrorism and illicit drug trafficking needed support of international community, included the United States, for solution of those problems.
Tajik leader and the U.S. Secretary of State also discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy and energy, creation of the common Central Asian energy market, enhancement of the transport and communications sectors, as well as reconstruction of Afghanistan’s economy, the press service said.
The same day, President Rahmon met with Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the Emir of the state of Qatar, in New York. They discussed implementation of agreements reached between the two countries in different fields
To promote further expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and Qatar President Rahmon proposed to hold the first session of the Tajik-Qatari intergovernmental commission in Dushanbe. The sides also discussed bilateral cooperation within the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and the OIC foreign ministers’ session that would be held in Dushanbe next year.
The issue of establishment of a joint intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation was also considered during a meeting of President Rahmon with Egyptian Foreign Ahmed Aboul Gheit that was held in New York on September 23.
The sides also discussed the process of preparations for an international conference dedicated to the 1310th anniversary of Imam Azam that will be held in Dushanbe in early October this year. Egyptian minister highly appraised Tajik president’s initiative to study heritage of Imam Abu Hanifa.
President Rahmon conveyed the invitation to Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak to pay an official visit to Tajikistan.
