Turkish foreign minister meets officials in Tajikistan

By Serife Cetin

ANKARA, Turkey / DUSHANBE, Tajikistan (AA) - Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met government officials in Tajikistan's capital on Monday.

“Discussed w/ Mahmadtoir Zokirzoda, Speaker of House of Representatives of #Tajikistan, increasing inter-parliamentary contacts after the pandemic,” he wrote on Twitter. “Parliamentary diplomacy will further strengthen our brotherly relations."

In a separate tweet, the Turkish minister wrote: “Discussed our economic cooperation w/Joint Economic Commission Co-Chair Sherali Kabir, Minister of Industry and New Technologies of #Tajikistan.”

“11th JEC meeting will be held in Dushanbe in August. -Signing Preferential Trade Agreement will increase our commercial relations,” he added.

Cavusoglu arrived in the Central Asian country on a three-day official visit on Sunday. He will also attend the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process.

The regional initiative of Afghanistan and Turkey launched in 2011, has two chairs with Afghanistan as the permanent chair and a co-chair from among the member states that shifts each year.

It aims to promote regional security, economic and political cooperation centered on Afghanistan through dialogue and confidence-building measures.

According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Turkey ranked third among the countries which assisted Tajikistan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The total value of Turkish investments in the country between 2009 and 2019 was $200 million. Bilateral trade volume was $322 million in 2020.