ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon on Wednesday expressed satisfaction on the steady growth and momentum of the bilateral relations and agreed to enhance these relations towards strategic cooperation for mutual benefit of the two countries and their peoples.
A joint communique on the official visit of Tajikistan President’s visit to Pakistan, said the leaders of the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to deepen the existing fraternal ties between the two countries which were based on a shared history, culture, geographical contiguity and common faith.
The two leaders agreed that the Strategic Partnership Agreement, which will further enhance bilateral cooperation, should be finalized at the earliest and be signed during the visit of Prime Minister of Pakistan to Dushanbe next year.
They also exchanged felicitations on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.
During the delegation-level talks, the two leaders exchanged views on a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation, as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest.
The two countries enjoyed excellent bilateral cooperation at the multilateral forums including the UN, SCO, OIC, ECO and CICA. It was agreed to further boost multilateral cooperation for global and regional peace, stability and sustainable development.
The prime minister of Pakistan supported nomination of the Republic of Tajikistan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2028-2029 and appreciated Tajikistan’s support for Pakistan’s candidature to the same body for the term 2025-26.
He highly appreciated efforts of the president of Tajikistan as one of the founders of the SCO and expressed support for his initiative to establish the SCO Anti-Drug Center in Dushanbe.
The prime minister underlined the importance of engagement with Tajikistan under Pakistan’s “Vision Central Asia” policy which was based on the five pillars of bilateral cooperation i.e. political, trade & investment, energy & connectivity, security & defence and people-to-people contacts.
Both sides welcomed Pakistan’s initiative to hold Regional Connectivity Summit early next year.
The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s support to Tajikistan for its membership in Quadrilateral Traffic in Transit Agreement (QTTA).
Noting efforts of the Central Asian states aimed at establishing on atmosphere of good-neighborliness, trust and friendship in the region, the prime minister welcomed holding of the fifth anniversary of the Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia in the Republic of Tajikistan on September 14-15, 2023. APP