Iranian media reports say Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, heading Iranian parliamentarian delegation is arriving in Dushanbe today.
IRNA reports that Ghalibaf will participate in a conference dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Tajikistan’s Constitution.
While in Dushanbe, Iranian parliament speaker will also hold talks President Emomali Rahmon, Majlisi Milli (Tajikistan’s upper chamber of parliament) Speaker Rustam Emomali, who is also Mayor of Dushanbe, and Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) Muhammadtoir Zokirzoda.
Citing the head of Iran/Tajikistan Parliamentary Friendship Group, IRNA reports that that one of the most important priorities of this visit will be bilateral negotiations on the further expansion of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (born August 23, 1961) is an Iranian conservative politician, former military officer, and current Speaker of the Parliament of Iran since 2020. He held office as the Mayor of Tehran from 2005 to 2017. Ghalibaf was formerly Iran's Chief of police from 2000 to 2005 and commander of the Revolutionary Guards' Air Force from 1997 to 2000.
Tajikistan and Iran have traditionally close relations, sharing many similar cultural, religious and ethnic identifiers and Iran has been a major sponsor of essential hydropower infrastructure in Tajikistan, but Iran has angered Tajikistan by inviting the Islamic Revival Party (IRPT) leader Muhiddin Kabiri to attend the International Islamic Unity Conference that took place in Tehran on December 27-29, 2015.
Tajikistan started taking efforts to improve its relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran in early 2019, and the long period of chill in relations between Tajikistan and Iran has come to an end. There was clear evidence of that in late May of 2022, when Tajik President Emomali Rahmon paid an official visit to Tehran and signed 17 cooperation agreements. The documents entail political, economic and trade cooperation between Tehran and Dushanbe, relations in the transportation sector, joint investment, new technologies, environmental issues, the energy sector, sports interaction, judicial cooperation, research and training, as well as the tourism industry.
In June 2022, Deputy Iranian Interior Minister for Security and Police Affairs Sayed Majid Mirahmadi, visited Dushanbe to attend the first meeting of the joint security task force between Iran and Tajikistan.
In September last year, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi held talks in New York on the margins of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The two presidents discussed further expansion of the bilateral cooperation and a number of topical and regional issues being of mutual interest. The parties also discussed cooperation between the two countries within international and regional organizations.
On September 23 this year, Emomali Rahmon met with newly appointed Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New York on the sidelines of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79). The parties discussed a wide array of issues related to bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. At the end of the meeting, Emomali Rahmon invited Masoud Pezeshkian to visit Tajikistan at a time convenient for him.
