An official source within the Uzbek Embassy in Dushanbe says Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is expected to pay a state visit to Tajikistan from April 18-19.
According to him, the Uzbek president will meet with high-ranking Tajik state officials to discuss state and prospects further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Days of the Culture of Uzbekistan will be held in Dushanbe from April 17-20, the source said.
He refrained from giving further details.
Meanwhile, the Tajik MFA information department says Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin on April 14 met in Tashkent with his Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on the sidelines of the second meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the Central Asian countries (C5) Strategic Dialogue, according to the Tajik MFA information department.
The parties reportedly discussed a number of issues related to state and further expansion of the bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Muhriddin and Saidov also exchanged views on cooperation between the two countries within the framework of international and regional organizations.
They reportedly also discussed issues related to the preparation of a state visit of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Tajikistan.
Relations between the countries have become warmer after Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power in Uzbekistan in 2016. Mirziyoyev has said that improving ties with Central Asian nations is a major priority of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy.
Emomali Rahmon and Shavkat Mirziyoyev have met several times since September 2016 and in March 2018, Mirziyoyev made an historic visit to Dushanbe, where 27 bilateral agreements were signed in the fields of trade, economy, investment, finance, transport and transit, agriculture, water and energy, taxes, customs, tourism, education and science, health, culture, interregional cooperation, in the field of security and countering crime. One of the agreements signed in Dushanbe on March 9, 2020 was a deal enabling nationals of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to visit each other’s countries for up to 30 days without obtaining visa.
