Building trade relations: PM seeks to bolster ties with Tajikistan

Both countries affirm need for stable Afghanistan.

DUSHANBE:

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif met with President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe on Tuesday during an official two-day visit to the country and agreed to strengthen economic cooperation between the two nations.

The visit came a day after the PM announced the decision of launching the operation Zarb-e-Azb in the National Assembly. Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif postponed his scheduled visit to Sri Lanka due to the ongoing operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Wazirstan.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the president, Prime Minister Sharif said Pakistan and Tajikistan should expand cooperation in diverse fields including energy, security, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. The PM said both sides held wide-ranging consultations covering a spectrum of bilateral, regional and international issues.

He said both sides agreed that there was a vast potential to be harnessed for mutually beneficial collaboration in many fields. Bilateral trade between the two countries has grown significantly in recent years, the PM said and added that through mutual efforts, it can be sustained and further increased.

The PM said that both countries signed a number of agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for enhancing bilateral cooperation in different areas. “It is important for our socio-economic development to eliminate the scourge of extremism and terrorism. Today, we reaffirmed our commitment to maintain and further increase our high level of cooperation to counter these threats,” the PM said.

He said Pakistan and Tajikistan were also concerned about the menace of narcotics drugs, cross-border organised crimes, and human trafficking and had resolved to collectively fight to resolve these issues.

In the regional context, the PM said the leadership of both the countries conferred on the situation in Afghanistan. He said that Pakistan wishes well for their Afghan brothers, as they go through a period of transition, adding that a peaceful, stable and unified Afghanistan remains vital for peace and stability in the region.

He said the two countries cooperate closely in the UN, OIC, ECO and SCO and reiterated their mutual desire to deepen this cooperation. He said parliaments of the two countries were interacting closely and reinforcing the efforts of the two governments for closer ties. He said that this visit was also a manifestation of strong desire to further deepen and broaden bilateral relations with Tajikistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2014.