On April 8-9, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov was on an official visit to the Russian Federation by invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, according to the Tajik MFA information department.
In the course of the talks, Aslov and Lavrov reportedly discussed state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the Russian Federation, including implementation of agreements that were signed during Russian president’s official visit to Tajikistan on February 27, 2017.
The two also exchanged views on a number of international and regional issues being of mutual interest as well as issues related to providing regional security and expansion of cooperation between the two countries within the framework of international organizations.
The meeting reportedly resulted in signing of the program of cooperation between the foreign ministries of Tajikistan and the Russia Federation for 2018.
Meanwhile, citing Russian media outlets, Radio Liberty reports that Tajikistan's foreign minister says Dushanbe is expecting a Russian delegation to attend an international conference on water resources in Central Asia that it is hosting in June.
Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov reportedly made the comment on April 9 in Moscow, where he met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Access to water has been a source of tension among the five former Soviet republics in Central Asia — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The meeting in Dushanbe is scheduled for June 20-22.
Aslov also said that Tajikistan expected Russian support in setting up an antidrug hub in Tajikistan under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Lavrov said that Russia and Tajikistan were strategic partners cooperating within various organizations including the SCO, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and the Commonwealth of independent states (CIS).
