Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will visit Tajikistan on a working trip in January, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan.
An official source within the Tajik Foreign Ministry told Asia-Plus in an interview that Pezeshkian would hold talks in Dushanbe with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
The discussions will focus on key issues of bilateral cooperation, particularly in the economic and humanitarian sectors.
The visit's program includes additional meetings and events, though details, including exact dates, have yet to be disclosed.
This will mark President Pezeshkian’s first official visit to Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Tabnak reported yesterday that Majlisi Milli (Tajikistan’s upper chamber of parliament) Rustam Emomali, who is also Mayor of Dushanbe, shared the news via social media.
According to Rustam Emomali, the visit will include meetings between the two countries' leaders, along with other key negotiations, Tabnak added.
Masoud Pezeshkian was elected President of Iran in July 2024 following the death of his predecessor, Ebrahim Raisi, in a helicopter crash. Emomali Rahmon attended Pezeshkian's inauguration ceremony.
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 2023, 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 last year, Iran and Tajikistan agreed to scrap visa requirements for travels between the two countries.
On September 23 last 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.
