On Thursday October 10, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon received Mohammad Bagher Ghalebaf, Chairman of the Majles-e Shura-ye Eslami (the Islamic Consultative Assembly – the national legislative body of Iran).
The Tajik president’s official website says the parties discussed state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran.
In the course of the talks, Tajik leader reportedly emphasized the significance of Iran as a reliable partner in the region.
Sectors like investment, hydropower, transportation, agriculture and pharmaceutics were outlined as area, which could drive the bilateral trade between the two countries.
According to the Tajik president’s official website, both parties Оexpressed readiness to continue dialogue and intensify the work of the Tajikistan/Iran Parliamentary Friendship Group.
They reportedly also touched upon related to expansion of cultural cooperation and protection of common values.
At the end of the meeting, Rahmon and Ghalebaf reportedly noted that the importance of inter-parliamentary cooperation to maintain peace and stability in the region.
On October 10, visiting Iranian Parliament Speaker also met with Majlisi Milli (Tajikistan’s upper chamber of parliament) Speaker Rustam Emomali, who is also the Mayor of Dushanbe. The negotiations were reportedly held in a narrow and expanded format.
Rustam Emomali reportedly warmly welcomed the distinguished guest and the official delegation of Iran, noting satisfaction with the smooth expansion of many-sided cooperation between the two countries.
Iranian media reports say Mohammad Bagher Ghalebaf, heading Iranian parliamentary delegation, arrived in Dushanbe Wednesday evening, marking a mission aimed at enhancing bilateral ties and addressing pressing regional issues.
Tehran Times says Ghalebaf’s visit to Tajikistan comes at the invitation of the Tajik Parliament to participate in an international parliamentary meeting celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of legislative activities in Tajikistan.
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 August 10 this year, Iran and Tajikistan agreed to scrap visa requirements for travels between the two countries.
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.
