Pakistan, Tajikistan agree on immediate revival of air links, taking trade to $ 500 million

By Shahid Saleem Khan

DUSHANBE, June 19 (APP):Pakistan and Tajikistan Tuesday agreed to further strengthen their relations by adopting measures to take bilateral trade to US $ 500 million per annum, immediate revival of air links and early implementation of CASA-1000 (Central Asia South Asia) electricity project.
The two sides reached this agreement during talks between President Mamnoon Hussain and President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan held here at the State Guest House.
President Mamnoon Hussain, who was in Dushanbe on a four-day official visit on the invitation of his Tajik counterpart, held one-on-one and delegation level talks with President Emomali Rahmon.
During the talks, the two sides agreed to further strengthen their relations and giving “new impetus” to the ties through enhanced cooperation in diverse areas, including trade, energy, connectivity, defence, health, education and culture.
President Mamnoon Hussain and President Emomali Rahmon later at a joint press stake-out expressed their satisfaction and were confident about the positive and mutually beneficial outcome of the talks.
President Mamnoon said since Pakistan and Tajikistan enjoyed historical, cultural and fraternal bonds, their relations had been further strengthened by closer cooperation and regular exchange of high level visits since the latter’s independence in 1991. Pakistan was among the very first countries to recognize Tajikistan’s independence and establish diplomatic relations, he added.
The President felicitated his Tajik counterpart and the Government of Tajikistan for the initiative to host the International High-Level Conference on International Decade for Action, ‘Water for Sustainable Development,’ 2018-2028.
“Both our brotherly countries enjoy excellent cooperation at multilateral fora, including the UN, OIC, ECO, and SCO. Pakistan’s full membership in the SCO last year has opened new avenues for increased cooperation between our two countries,” he added.
The President said he and his Tajik counterpart today discussed and reviewed the whole spectrum of bilateral cooperation, particularly in the areas of energy, connectivity, trade, and security and defence.
“We also discussed important regional and international issues of mutual concern. We have agreed that there is vast potential for cooperation in all areas of our mutual interest,” he added.

President Mamnoon said the two sides noted with satisfaction that the decisions taken at the 5thJoint Ministerial Commission (JMC) meeting held in June 2016 were being implemented.
The decisions also included the formation of four joint working groups to foster increased collaboration in areas of energy, trade, investment, transport, agriculture, industry and science and technology, he added.
The President said the joint working groups on trade, investment and transport, and oil and gas had held meetings and come up with concrete proposals to increase cooperation in the relevant areas.
Both the sides were working on those proposals, he said and added that the dates for the meetings of other joint working groups, which would meet soon, were being worked out.
The President said he looked forward to Tajikistan’s formal accession to the Quadrilateral Agreement on Traffic in Transit (QTTA) with Pakistan, China, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. This agreement would provide a legal framework for Tajikistan to utilize our land routes for use of our seaports, he added.
He said Pakistan, like Tajikistan, attached great importance to the early completion of CASA-1000 power project. “We have, therefore, resolved to take all necessary measures to ensure the project’s completion as soon as possible,” he added.
He said the two sides also discussed the road, rail and cir connectivity, which was crucial to regional integration and promotion of bilateral trade, tourism and people-to-people contacts. “We have, therefore, resolved to multiply our efforts to increase connectivity between our two countries and work towards resumption of air flights between the two countries,” he added.

President Mamnoon said Pakistan and Tajikistan today reaffirmed their resolve to work together to eliminate the scourge of extremism and terrorism from the two countries and the region.
“We have noted with satisfaction that our bilateral defence and security cooperation is deepening day by day to overcome our common challenges. I am happy to note that the first meeting of Pakistan-Tajikistan Joint Working Group on Countering International Terrorism was held in Dushanbe in February 2018,” he added.
The President said the two countries were also concerned about the menace of cross-border organized crimes such as narcotics smuggling and human trafficking and had reaffirmed their resolve to collectively fight against the evils as well and the two sides were already cooperating in that regard.
“We also decided to further increase our cooperation in the defence area. Pakistan is committed to strengthen the armed forces of Tajikistan. To bring defence relations to a new level Pakistan has decided to open a Defence Wing at the Embassy of Pakistan in Dushanbe,” he added.
The President said they had decided to make all efforts to increase bilateral trade. The Joint Working Group on Trade, Investment and Transport, he added, held its first meeting last year and formulated a road map to increase cooperation in these areas.
“Both the sides are working to materialize the decisions taken at the meeting. I am pleased to inform you that Pakistan has recently opened a separate Commercial Section at our embassy in Dushanbe to boost the bilateral trade,” he added.
The President said today the two countries had also signed new agreements and memorandums of understanding in different fields to further boost cooperation in diverse areas of mutual interest. “We remain committed to work closely to take our bilateral relations to new heights.”
He thanked President Emomali Rahmon and the Government of Tajikistan for extending an invitation to him to visit Tajikistan and for the warm hospitality accorded to him and his delegation.
President Mamnoon also extended an invitation to President Rahmon to visit Islamabad at his earliest convenience.|
President Emomali Rahmon told the joint press stakeout that the two sides discussed the existing as well as future prospects of enhanced cooperation between the two countries for mutual benefit.
He hoped that the outcome of President Mamnoon’s visit would be beneficial for the two countries and help in giving new impetus to the bilateral relations.
The Tajik President said his country was interested in strengthening its relations with the regional countries, including Pakistan, and wanted to see peace and stability in the region and in that respect he appreciated the role of Pakistan,
He said the two side had also agreed to take bilateral trade to the level of US $ 500 million. “We hope that Pakistani investors will also benefit from the investment opportunities in Tajikistan.”
President Rahmon said since Tajikistan was a land-locked country it wanted access to Pakistan’s sea ports, direct air connectivity and early implementation of CASA-1000 project and the two sides discussed the matters in detail.
He said Pakistan and Tajikistan were also cooperating closely with each other at all international fora, including the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).
President Rahmon said besides the bilateral relations, the two sides also discussed regional and international matters of mutual interest, particularly the situation in Afghanistan and the efforts for peace there.
During the delegation level talks, President Mamnoon was aided by Secretary to the President Shahid Khan, Special Secretary Foreign Affairs Aitzaz Ahmad, Director General Central Asian Republics (CARs) and ECO Ms Saqlain Syeda, Pakistan’s Ambassador in Dushanbe Tariq Soomro and senior officials.
Earlier, the two presidents signed a joint declaration titled “Strengthening the Road to Strategic Partnership for Regional Integration” and witnessed the signing of two bilateral documents. These included two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for cooperation in the fields of information between the Committee on Television and Radio of Tajikistan and Pakistan’s Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and National Heritrage and the Auditor General of Pakistan and the Accounts Chamber of Tajikistan on cooperation in auditing the public sector.
Tajik President Rahmon later hosted a banquet reception for President Mamnoon and his delegation in the evening.