On Tuesday July 13, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Tajikistan on a two-day official visit at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin.
According to the Tajik MFA information department, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon received Mr. Wang Yi on the same day.
Meanwhile, Muhriddin and Wang reportedly discussed issues related to the implementation of the agreements reached by the leaders of the two countries, latest developments in Afghanistan and providing regional security as well as the state and prospects of further expansion of the bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and China.
They also discussed collaboration between the two countries within the framework of international and regional organizations, including the UN, SCO and CICA, the Tajik MFA information department said.
While in Dushanbe, Mr. Wang will participate in the next meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers and the first meeting of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group at the ministerial level that are taking place in the Tajik capital today.
It is to be noted that Chinese foreign minister’s visit to Tajikistan is the second leg of his tour of Central Asia.
Xinhua, citing the foreign ministry's spokesperson Wang Wenbin, reported on July 9 that Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan from July 12 to 16. Wang will pay the visits at the invitation of Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin and Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, Xinhua said. He told a press briefing that Wang will also attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers meeting, a foreign ministers meeting of the SCO-Afghanistan contact group, and an international conference themed "Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity, Challenges and Opportunities."
During his trip to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Wang said on Tuesday that China is ready to step up cooperation with Turkmenistan in various areas.
In the course of the talks with Serdar Berdymukhamedov, Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Turkmen side of the China-Turkmenistan Cooperation Committee, Wang noted that under the personal guidance of the two heads of state, the development of the China-Turkmenistan strategic partnership has maintained healthy and stable momentum, Xinhua said on July 14. China hopes that the two sides will sign the document which aligns the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with Turkmenistan's development strategy to revive the Great Silk Road, he noted. Wang also called on the two sides to formulate a five-year plan for cooperation, facilitate negotiation on natural gas cooperation to achieve substantive progress at an early date, expand cooperation in the non-natural resources field and reach consensus on economic cooperation in key sectors as soon as possible and send a positive signal of long-term and stable strategic cooperation between China and Turkmenistan.
Berdymukhamedov, for his part, warmly congratulated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and highly appreciated the great achievements China has made under the leadership of the CPC.
Berdymukhamedov said that Turkmenistan attaches great importance to constantly strengthening the Turkmenistan-China strategic partnership on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefits.
