DUSHANBE, September 11, Asia-Plus 2014, Asia-Plus – Uzbek President Islam Karimov arrived in Dushanbe on September 11 to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
While in Dushanbe, Islam Karimov is scheduled to hold talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
Uzbek president is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Dushanbe.
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.
