On Tuesday January 5, Tajik Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Akram Karimi met with the Governor of General Authority for Foreign Trade of Saudi Arabia Abdulrahman Al Harbi.
According to the Tajik MFA information department, the parties discussed issues related to trade, economic and investment cooperation between Tajikistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
They reportedly noted the importance of exchanging visits of heads of economic and trade authorities of the two countries and holding economic forums with the participation of representatives of the private sector.
Established on January 1, 2019, the Saudi General Authority for Foreign Trade is a government agency responsible for enhancing the international commercial and investment activities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The authority is governed by a board of directors headed by the Minister of Commerce and Investment. The board of directors includes representatives from other ministries and governmental agencies. Abdulrahman Al Harbi was appointed the governor of the General Authority for Foreign Trade by a royal decree issued on March 23, 2019.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recognized the independence of the Republic of Tajikistan on January 11, 1992 and diplomatic relations between two countries were established on February 22, 1992.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the first Arab country that opened its diplomatic mission in Tajikistan on January 2010 as a follow up to the Tajik Embassy inauguration in Saudi Arabia in 2008.
The President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon has paid three visits to Saudi Arabia (1997, 2001, and 2005) over the past 20 years of bilateral relations thus setting up legal framework that regulates bilateral relations between the two countries. The legal foundation of the bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Saudi Arabia includes eleven documents.
In order to establish cooperation between the public sectors in the economy sphere of Tajikistan and Saudi Arabia, the joint intergovernmental commission of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on trade and economic cooperation began to operate. Tajik and Saudi Arabian entrepreneur’s Council is another tool for the development of cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries.
