DUSHANBE, August 8, 2014, Asia-Plus — Uzbek President Islam Karimov is expected to arrive in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, in September to participate in a meeting of the heads of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member nations that will take place here from September 11-12, a well-informed source told Asia-Plus Friday afternoon.
While in Dushanbe, Islam Karimov is also expected to hold talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
Tajik and Uzbek leaders meet rarely because of disagreements over use of regional water-and-energy resources.
Their previous meeting took place four years ago in Tashkent in June 2010 on sideline of the SCO summit.
It will be the first visit of Uzbek president to Tajikistan since 2008. In August 2008, Islam Karimov visited Dushanbe to attend the SCO summit.
Relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are currently strained because of the former’s plans to build the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP). Tajik authorities believe that the Roghun dam is solution to many problems Tajikistan faces today, including frequent electricity shortages during winters. The Roghun HPP could generate both enough electricity to provide for Tajikistan’s population and enough excess to export to Pakistan, Afghanistan, or China.
Uzbekistan is downstream country and its authorities consider that Tajikistan will use the dam as a means of leverage to pressure Uzbekistan in the many political disputes between the two countries.
