DUSHANBE, December 7, Asia-Plus — Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi is currently on an official tour of a number of Southeast Asian countries, according to the Tajik MFA information department.
The first leg of his Southeast Asian tour is Singapore. Zarifi is making an official visit to Singapore (December 7-8) at the invitation of Singapore’s Minister of Foreign Affairs George Yeo.
According to Singapore’s media, besides meeting with his counterpart, Hamrokhon Zarifi will also hold talks with Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang, and Environment and Water Resources Minister Yaacob Ibrahim.
Channelnewsasia.com reports Tajik minister is also scheduled to attend briefings by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources and the Singapore Business Federation.
On December 8-9, Zarifi will visit Brunei Darussalam, the MFA information department said.
During his visit to Indonesia (December 9-12), Tajik minister will attend a Bali Democratic Forum (BDF) event that will take place on the resort island of Bali from December 10-12.
According to Indonesia’s MFA, this year”s BDF, the second running of this event, will focus on its theme of Promoting Synergy between Democracy and Development in Asia: Prospects for Regional Cooperation. The forum is aimed at promoting regional international cooperation in the field of democracy and political development among countries in Asia. The BDF is expected to contribute to the pursuit of democratic ideals through dialogue and practical cooperation. The BDF also serves as an institution dedicated to promoting regional and international cooperation in the field of democracy, which will hopefully strengthen democratic institutions at the national level and bridge the gaps in political development in Asia.
This annual high-level forum of foreign ministers and prominent figures is designed to facilitate dialogue and cooperation in national capacity building of both democratic countries and those aspiring to be more democratic.
Countries that are scheduled to participate include Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Malaysia, Myanmar, Japan, Tajikistan, Timor Leste, and Vanuatu. Observing countries that have expressed their interest in attending are the United States, Norway and the Netherlands. Apart from the main conference, the BDF will include a series of seminars, workshops, roundtable discussions and research pre-sentations.
The inaugural BDF last year was hailed as an historic moment as it was the first time representatives from Asian countries had assembled to discuss democracy, a somewhat sensitive issue in the region.
Besides, Zarifi is also scheduled to meet Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to hand him President Emomali Rahmon’s invitation to pay visit to visit Tajikistan at any convenient time.
