DUSHANBE, October 31, 2012, Asia-Plus — On Wednesday October 31, Mr. Shukurjon Zuhurov, Chairman of the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament) met with Mr. Robin Jeremy Ord-Smith, British Ambassador to Tajikistan.
Muhammadato Sultonov, a spokesman for the Majlisi Namoyandagon, says the sides discussed issues related to state and prospects of further expansion of inter-parliamentary cooperation between Tajikistan and the United Kingdom.
Tajik parliament speaker reportedly noted that several draft government-to-government cooperation agreements worked out by the Tajik side are currently being considered by the British authorities. He expressed hope that the British side would complete consideration of them in the near future.
Zuhurov noted that fifteen Tajik-British joint ventures now operated in Tajikistan.
For his part, British diplomat noted that senior representatives of five British companies dealing with tourism and mining would arrive in Dushanbe in the near future to study the investment climate in Tajikistan.
Ambassador Ord-Smith also noted that the United Kingdom and Tajikistan could closer cooperate on reconstruction of Afghanistan’s economy, Sultonov said.
We will recall that Mr. Umed Davlatzod, Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Tajikistan met here with Mr. Damion Potter, Head of Commercial Section, UK Trade & Investment Russia on October 15 to discuss ways to establish mutually beneficial cooperation between Tajik and British companies.
The sides reportedly discussed issues related to establishment of cooperation in sectors like mineral extraction, farm produce processing, stock exchanges, including equity market as well as investment in free economic zones.
According to data from the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan, trade between Tajikistan and the United Kingdom over the first nine months of this year has valued at only some 8.7 million U.S. dollars. This consisted only of Tajikistan’s imports from the United Kingdom.
