The Ministry of Foreign Affairs pursued its activities in the first half of 2020 based on the requirements of the Constitution and laws of Tajikistan, national legal and regulatory framework, decrees, orders and instructions of the head of state, as well as the decisions and guidance of the Government, the Regulation on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, the Foreign Policy Concept Framework of Tajikistan, and the Main Action Plan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan for 2020, says a statement released by the Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin on July 27.
Regretfully, the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) and the World Health Organization's announcement of the pandemic has had a severe impact on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' agenda in the international arena during the reporting period, the statement notes.
In accordance with the instructions and orders of the Head of State and the Government of the country, the Ministry mainly focused on prevention of the spread of Covid-19 and reduction of the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic in this period. To this end, the Ministry established a permanent Task Force operating 24/7 to monitor the situation with the Covid-19 pandemic conforming to the order of the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministry has significantly contributed to attracting international humanitarian aid and repatriating our nationals stranded abroad, including Russia, China, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, USA, Germany, India, Turkey, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Pakistan and other countries due to the suspension of international flights. We continuously pursue our activities in this area.
In these difficult moments, a number of countries and development partners supported Tajikistan. Sirojiddin Muhriddin offered the gratitude of Tajikistan to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, China, Russia, India, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, European Union, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Japan, Israel, Qatar, World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), International, independent medical humanitarian organization of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe, Aga Khan Development Network in Tajikistan (AKDN), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other partners.
The situation that has arisen as a result of the spread of the novel coronavirus around the world, has reportedly had a serious impact on bilateral and multilateral cooperation between our country and its foreign partners. Nevertheless, the Ministry has reportedly sought to sustain and expand Tajikistan's relations with partner countries and international organizations at a decent level. In this period, communications with our foreign partners have mainly proceeded through virtual or video conferencing, telephone conversations and exchange of messages.
During the first half of the year, the expansion of bilateral and multilateral relations between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Commonwealth of Independent States member states has traditionally been a priority of our foreign policy.
During this period, Tajikistan reportedly continued and developed its political, economic, cultural and humanitarian relations with the countries in Asia, Europe, America, the Pacific Ocean and Africa.
In terms of interaction between Tajikistan and the international organizations, several important milestones have reportedly taken place in the past six months. Over the past several months, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan collaborated with international organizations through video conference format.
In January and February 2020, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan paid official and working visits to Germany, Serbia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Russia, Uzbekistan and Qatar. The meetings with the leadership and other officials of the partner countries discussed priorities of bilateral economic, trade, investment and infrastructure cooperation.
In addition, during the reporting period the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan had telephone conversations and video meetings with a number of his foreign counterparts and leaders of international organizations. These conversations reportedly focused on current state and prospects for the enhancement of bilateral relations of Tajikistan with aforementioned countries and international organizations in various areas, cooperation in the fight against Covid-19 and other issues of common interest.
During the reporting period, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan convened political consultations with foreign ministries of other countries, including Ukraine, Qatar and Italy, and Dushanbe appointed new ambassadors to Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Israel and Indonesia.
Over the first six months of this year, Tajik foreign minister took part in international fora and events held via video conferences.
The Ministry's cooperation with foreign media reportedly continued as for registration and creation of favorable environment for their activities in the country. In accordance with the Regulation on the Accreditation of Foreign Journalists, the Ministry’s Section of International Information and Accreditation accredited more than 30 foreign journalists who applied for a temporary and permanent operation in Tajikistan, the minister said.
