Dushanbe (TDI): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon on Thursday reviewed bilateral cooperation in different areas, including political, trade, economy, energy, defense, security, and regional connectivity.
During the meeting, they agreed to pursue new avenues for collaboration with a focus on enhancing investment opportunities, boosting educational linkages, prompting cultural exchanges, advancing information technology cooperation and strengthening people-to-people contacts.
Earlier upon his arrival at the Palace of the Nation, President Emomali Rahmon welcomed the premier and his delegation.
PM Shehbaz arrived in Dushanbe at the invitation of Tajikistan government to attend the International High-Level Conference on Glaciers Preservation (ICGP) being held on 29-31 May.
He is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, and senior officials.
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Upon arrival at Dushanbe, the prime minister was welcomed by his Tajik counterpart Qohir Rasulzoda.
In the meeting, PM Shehbaz Sharif and President Rahmon recalled the signing of the historic Strategic Partnership Agreement during the prime minister’s trip to Dushanbe in July last year, which laid a strong foundation for enhancing bilateral ties and advancing shared interests.
On CASA-1000, the two leaders reiterated their commitment to positioning it as a pivotal project for regional integration. Praising the holding of CASA-1000 Inter-Governmental Council in Dushanbe on May 15, PM Shehbaz spoke of the shared commitment to its early operationalization.
Regarding economic collaboration, the two leaders, while acknowledging the untapped potential in bilateral trade, highlighted the significance of actively pursuing new avenues of cooperation in line with the decisions taken during the Seventh session of Pakistan-Tajikistan Joint Commission on Trade, Economic and Scientific Technical Cooperation, held in Islamabad in December.
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They agreed to effectively leverage the existing institutional frameworks including twelve Joint Working Groups to strengthen collaboration, particularly in oil and gas and energy sectors.
They took note of strengthening bilateral collaboration in the field of defense and security and reaffirmed their resolve to boost the same to overcome the common security challenges.
They stressed the need to strengthen cooperation in counterterrorism, combating cross-border organized crime and human and drug trafficking.
Farkhund Yousafzai is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
