On Monday April 22, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin met here with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Lord David Cameron.
The Tajik MFA information department says the parties addressed the key issues of bilateral cooperation and within the framework of this meeting signed the government-to-government agreement between Tajikistan and the United Kingdom on air services, which reportedly lays the legal foundation for establishment of direct flights between Dushanbe and London.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office says the Foreign Secretary David Cameron is visiting Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia as part of government ambition to increase engagement with this pivotal region of the world. He will meet leaders across the region to deepen cooperation on shared challenges, from counter-terrorism to climate change.
He will support global opportunities for young people, by ensuring that English language teachers across the region will have access to tailored British Council English language teaching materials. He will double the amount of funding for Chevening scholarships, so more people can study at Britain’s world-class universities.
He will support British business to create jobs and growth from Bridgend to Bishkek. He will show that British business provides the sustainable, quality investment that can drive growth without compromising the region’s hard won sovereignty.
The Foreign Secretary will anchor top-level relationships between the UK and Central Asian states and Mongolia, solidifying our role as a long-term partner in the region. He will advance discussions on sanctions circumvention, human rights and reform.
He will use the visit to announce £50 million new development funding for the Central Asia and Eastern Neighborhood region over the next 3 years. UK funding will not only boost regional growth and economic resilience but build trade and cooperation between our countries, making the region and the UK safer and more prosperous.
During the visit, the Foreign Secretary will visit an array of important sites including a hydro-electric project in Tajikistan, a canal irrigation site in Kyrgyzstan and a cultural site in Mongolia.
David Cameron is the first British Foreign Secretary to visit Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and the first to Uzbekistan since 1997. It is also the first visit to Mongolia at this level in over decade.
