Report – In-house meeting with Delegation from the Republic of Tajikistan

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The Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI) hosted an In-House Meeting, on April 6, 2018, with a delegation from the Republic of Tajikistan. The delegation included: Mr. Mirsaidov Abror, Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics and Demography of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan; Mr. Hakim Abdullohi Rahnamo, Head of the Department on Analysis and Foreign Policy Perspectives (Vision) of the Center for Strategic Researches under the President of Tajikistan; Mr. Kurbonov Abdurahmon Sherovich, Head of the Department on Social Sciences Problem Studies of the Center for Strategic Researches under the President of Tajikistan; Mr. Abdurahmonov Marufjon, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan; Mr. Akbarov Akramhoja, Journalist/political reporter (National Information Agency of Tajikistan “Khovar” under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan); and H.E. Mr. Sherali Jononov, Ambassador, Republic of Tajikistan.

Welcoming the delegation, Chairman ISSI, Ambassador Khalid Mahmood shed light on various dimensions of Pakistan-Tajikistan relations: historical, religious, political and cultural. Dushanbe and Islamabad, he stated, have always cooperated very closely with each other on international forums. Of all the Central Asian states He said that Tajikistan is geographically closest to Pakistan. The bilateral relations had been established in 1992 when Tajikistan gained independence and these have been improving since then.  Although the bilateral cooperation is growing, yet we haven’t been able to achieve what we wanted with regards to the regional development and the Afghan issue. However, CASA-1000 and Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA) will further strengthen the bilateral ties. Referring to Afghanistan’s intransigence, he said that Kabul would realize soon that it is a gainer in the project. Given the renewed economic cooperation between the two countries, he was optimistic about the future trajectory of Pakistan-Tajikistan relations.

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