Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, who is on his official visit to Egypt, yesterday met in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, according to the Tajik president’s official website.
The two presidents reportedly discussed state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between their countries in various fields.
The two presidents also agreed on the importance of investing in the capabilities of Egypt and Tajikistan to enhance economic cooperation and trade exchange between them.
Sectors like mining, agriculture, water resources, tourism and health were outlines as areas which could drive a bilateral trade between Tajikistan and Egypt.
It was highlighted that the intensification of the work of the Tajik-Egyptian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, the holding of the Tajik-Egyptian Business Forum and the establishment of the Business Council of the two countries will play an important role in expanding economic and social cooperation.
The parties expressed interest in expanding cooperation between the free economic zones of Tajikistan and Egypt through the exchange of experiences in the establishment, management and expansion of activities in these regions and the establishment of joint ventures in their territories.
Rahmon and Sisi also exchanged views on a number of international and regional issues being of mutual interest, including ways to end conflicts as soon as possible in the Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan.
Egyptian president’s press service says they also addressed ways to enhance cooperation and coordination between the two countries in the field of security and intelligence and the exchange of information and expertise, especially with regard to combating terrorism, extremist ideology and organized crime. This is in addition to strengthening international efforts in the fight against terrorism. During the talks, the importance of tackling the cultural and intellectual aspects in confronting this danger was emphasized along with the military and security confrontation. In this regard, the Tajik President praised the role of ancient Egyptian religious institutions in spreading the correct teachings of the true Islamic religion.
At the conclusion of the talks, Emomali Rahmon invited Abdel Fattah El Sisi to pay an official visit to Tajikistan, which was welcomed by the Egyptian President, provided that the date of the visit will be arranged through diplomatic channels in the two countries.
The tete-a-tete meeting of the two presidents was followed by the expanded talks with the participation of official delegations of the two countries.
The two presidents witnessed the signing ceremony of a number of cooperation documents:
– A Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Sanitation of Egypt on cooperation in the field of agriculture;
– A Memorandum of Understanding between the Committee for Youth Affairs and Sports Affairs under the Government of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Egypt;
– An Agreement on cooperation between the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Higher Education of the Arab Republic of Egypt;
– An Agreement of Friendship and Cooperation between the Khatlon Province of Tajikistan and the Governorate of South Sinai;
– A Memorandum of Cooperation between the National Library and the Center for Written Heritage of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan and the National Library and Archives of Egypt.
