Dushanbe, 24 July 2021 (TDI): Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin received the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to Tajikistan Imran Haydar.
During the meeting, the sides discussed the state and prospects of bilateral relations, exchanged views on cooperation within the framework of international and regional organizations.
Twenty years of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Tajikistan have gained strength over the years as they are based on mutual trust, geographical proximity, cultural affinity, and religious shared values, which has made both states to work in close cooperation with each other at the international and regional level.
Pakistan and Tajikistan are situated in a region of great geostrategic importance, with a very narrow strip of Afghan territory, called the Wakhan Corridor, separating the two. Cooperation between these two neighbors is very important for the political and economic well-being of the region. Tajikistan is part of the Central Asian countries which share a close affinity with Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran.
It is rich in natural resources and is also landlocked. Due to these realities, Pakistan’s geographic and geostrategic position has been enhanced manifold as it is in an ideal position to provide a sea link to the country. Located on the western slopes of the Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan occupies one of the most rugged and topographically divided regions in the world.
Possessing extremely convoluted frontiers, it borders Uzbekistan to the West, China to the East, Afghanistan to the South, and Kyrgyzstan to the North. Tajikistan is the smallest in the area and third-largest in the population of the Central Asian republics.
Pakistan and Tajikistan relations date back to the time when Tajikistan emerged as an independent state after the collapse of the USSR in 1992. Pakistan was one of the first countries who recognize the independence of Tajikistan and established diplomatic relations by the opening of its embassy in Dushanbe in 1993. Tajikistan opened its embassy in its diplomatic mission in Pakistan four years later in 1997.
There is a lot more room in Pakistan and Tajikistan relations. The journey of togetherness has just begun and there is a long way to go. Building on these 20 years of friendship, Pakistan and Tajikistan need not only to help boost the trade, economic, and communication ties but further build the people-to-people contacts and enhance cultural and other linkages as well.
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