Samarkand, 15 September 2022 (TDI): Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif met the President of Tajikistan, Emamoli Rahmon in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Both the heads of state are in the city to attend the SCO 2022 Summit.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif is having a delegation level meeting with the Tajik side in Samarqand, Uzbekistan pic.twitter.com/mJkEE20BLQ
— Prime Minister’s Office (@PakPMO) September 15, 2022
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit hosted by Uzbekistan. During the meeting, the two sides discussed matters pertaining to mutual interests between the two countries will be discussed in the meeting.
President Rahmon expressed deep sympathy and sorrow for the loss of life and devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan and guaranteed the affected people of Tajikistan’s complete cooperation in relief and rehabilitation efforts.
The Prime Minister of Pakistan thanked Tajikistan for its assistance to flood victims in Pakistan and described the devastation caused by major floods caused by climate change.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister expressed delight in the two countries’ developing political, trade, economic, and cultural ties.
He emphasized the importance of a strategic relationship aimed at increasing security and mutual confidence, combating current global dangers and challenges, strengthening regional stability, and developing political, commercial, and economic cooperation.
Both sides underscored the importance of significantly strengthening the two nations’ dependable and constructive high-level contacts, inter-parliamentary relationships, and defense and security partnerships.
The Prime Minister stressed the significance of regular meetings of bilateral institutional institutions and the creation of mutually beneficial collaboration in energy project implementation.
He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s determination to complete the critical “CASA-1000” power transmission project on time.
The Prime Minister stressed the importance of connectivity and the expansion of cooperation in the sphere of road transportation.
Along these lines, he accentuated Pakistan’s willingness to enable Tajikistan’s access to Gwadar and Karachi.
The leaders also discussed regional and global topics of mutual concern, and they decided to collaborate to strengthen peace, stability, and security in the area, notably in Afghanistan.
The two leaders also pledged to keep in touch. President Rahmon was invited to Pakistan by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Sharif. President Rahmon also invited the Prime Minister to visit Tajikistan.
SCO Summit 2022
The SCO Summit in 2022 is being hosted in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Samarkand is known to be on the old Silk Road trade route that connects China to the Mediterranean.
The SCO summit in Uzbekistan would focus on assessing the organization’s operations over the last two decades and identifying areas where multilateral collaboration could be beneficial.
The talks would also include the geopolitical situation in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the situation in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
It is noteworthy that this is the first in-person summit since the SCO summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in 2019. The 22nd Meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Heads of State will be attended by leaders of SCO member states.
Moreover, the Observer states, the SCO Secretary General, the Executive Director of the SCO Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS), the President of Turkmenistan as well as others will attend.
In addition, Iran is scheduled to be formally admitted to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization during the conference.
It is pertinent to note that following the Samarkand Summit, India will assume the SCO presidency. India will preside over the SCO till September 2023. It will host the SCO summit the following year.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization: An Overview
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is a political, economic, and security organization in Eurasia.
It is the world’s largest regional organization in terms of geographic breadth and population, covering around 60% of Eurasia, 40% of the world population, and more than 30% of the global GDP.
The Shanghai Five, a mutual security pact founded in 1996 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, is the successor of the SCO.
The leaders of these countries plus Uzbekistan gathered in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, to announce a new organization with closer political and economic cooperation; the SCO Charter was signed on July 7, 2002, and entered into force on September 19, 2003.
It has since grown to eight members, with India and Pakistan joining on June 9, 2017. Several countries have agreed to participate as observers or discussion partners.
The SCO is managed by its top decision-making body, the Heads of State Council (HSC), which meets once a year.
Pakistan-Tajikistan Ties
Pakistan and Tajikistan enjoy strong and brotherly ties. The two countries are only 16 kilometers apart at their closest point. The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip of territory in northeastern Afghanistan that extends to China and separates Tajikistan from Pakistan.
Relations between the two countries were formed after Tajikistan gained independence following the demise of the Soviet Union.
Commerce and collaboration between the two countries have progressively increased, with various summits held on how to strengthen bilateral trade.
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