President Emomali Rahmon has invited the Amir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani to pay a state visit to Tajikistan. The invitation has been accepted by the Qatari side.
On Wednesday November 18, Rahmon held telephone conversation with Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, according to the Tajik president’s official website.
The parties reportedly discussed the state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between their countries.
They, in particular, noted that there was still considerable room for expansion of economic ties between the two countries.
They reportedly outlined sectors like energy, agriculture and tourism as areas, which could drive the bilateral trade between Tajikistan and Qatar.
Tajik President and the Amir of Qatar also exchanged views on cooperation between the two countries within framework of various international organizations and global effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rahmon appreciated Qatar’s cooperation in combating this virus, the Tajik president’s official website said.
Emomali Rahmon and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani also discussed a number of international and regional issues being of mutual interest.
Meanwhile, Qatar’s Gulf Times says His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani received a written message from Tajikistan's President Emomali Rahmon, pertaining to bilateral relations and ways to enhance them on November 8.
The message was reportedly received by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad al-Muraikhi when he met with Tajikistan's Ambassador to Qatar Khisrav Sohibzoda.
Diplomatic relations between the Republic of Tajikistan and the State of Qatar were established on December 13, 1994, and the Embassy of the State of Qatar started functioning in Tajikistan in November 2012. In July 2013, the State of Qatar appointed its Ambassador to the Republic of Tajikistan. Tajikistan opened its Embassy in the State of Qatar in December 2012. In May 2013, the Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to the State of Qatar was appointed.
However, currently there are few substantive projects linking Tajikistan and Qatar. One is the Qatari Diar real estate company’s luxury residence complex the “Diar Dushanbe” and the monumental mosque in the Tajik capital, which is the largest in Central Asia and accommodates 115,000 worshippers.
During his visit to Doha in February 2017, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and his team presented their Qatari counterparts with a laundry list of potential investment and spheres of cooperation: from hydropower and water to transportation, agriculture, light industry, mining, and scientific exchanges. The president also highlighted the country’s four free trade zones as open for Qatari business, and pushed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Qatar Stock Exchange and Tajikistan’s Central Asia Stock Exchange, established in April 2015.
On February 3, 2019, Tajikistan and Qatar signed a government-to-government agreement on regulation of recruitment of manpower from Tajikistan. Under this agreement, Tajik labor migrants can work in Qatar on the basis of a contract between employee and employer drawn up in accordance with Qatari legislation. The agreement reportedly includes the procedures and regulations of workers recruitment, in addition to the formation of a joint committee of the two sides to be held annually, to facilitate the recruitment procedures between the two countries.
