Edward Nalbandian meets with Foreign Minister of Tajikistan (video)
On July 2, Edward Nalbandian, Foreign Minister of Armenia, had a meeting with Sirodjidin Aslov, Foreign Minister of Tajikistan, who is paying an official visit to Yerevan. The meeting started in a tete-a-tete format, and proceeded with the participation of the delegations. Welcoming the guest, Foreign Minister of Armenia attached importance to the first official visit of the Foreign Minister of Tajikistan. He outlined that the Armenian side considers this visit, as well as the recent accreditation of the first Ambassador of Tajikistan to Armenia amid the agreements on giving a new impetus to bilateral relations, reached during the meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and Tajikistan, Serzh Sargsyan and Emomali Rahmon, respectively, on September 14, 2015, in Dushanbe. Expressing gratitude for the invitation to visit Yerevan and the warm reception, Foreign Minister of Tajikistan stressed, that his country highly appreciates friendly relations with Armenia and is determined to further develop the cooperation. During the meeting, the sides discussed the details of preparatory works of the forthcoming visit of President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon to Armenia, issues related to the expansion of cooperation between Armenia and Tajikistan within bilateral and multilateral frameworks. The Ministers exchanged thoughts on the development of cooperation in political, economic, cultural, educational, scientific fields, as well as the possibilities of implementing mutually beneficial projects. Edward Nalbandian and Sirodjidin Aslov attached importance to the holding of regular consultations between the Foreign Ministries, the enhancement of cooperation within the international organizations, the expansion of the legal field. During the negotiations, a reference was made to the Armenia-Tajikistan Inter-Governmental Committee established in 2004. The sides stressed the necessity to intensify its activity. In this regard, it was agreed to hold the next session of the Committee in the near future. The interlocutors emphasized the importance of the parliamentary format of cooperation. They commended the effective cooperation between the legislative bodies of the two countries within the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly framework. At the meeting, thoughts were exchanged on ways to promote trade and economic cooperation between Armenia and Tajikistan, by outlining the fields of light industry, high technology, jewelry and tourism as the perspective areas. The Ministers reflected on the expansion of cooperation in the areas of education, science and culture. In this regard, the Tajik side expressed interest in the establishment of contacts with Matenadaran, as well as in facilitating cooperation between the universities of the two countries. Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Tajikistan discussed issues of interaction within the frameworks of the UN, the OSCE, the CIS. Sirodjidin Aslov expressed gratitude for support to the candidacy of Tajikistan in the elections for the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The interlocutors touched upon the CSTO agenda issues, the implementation of priorities of Armenian Chairmanship in the CSTO. Edward Nalbandian presented to the guest the efforts of Armenia and the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs aimed at the creation of relevant conditions for the resumption of negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, steps undertaken towards the implementation of agreements reached at Summits in Vienna and St. Petersburg. In this context Mr. Aslov expressed concern over the escalation of situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone in April and reaffirmed principled position of his country on the necessity of exclusively peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Sirodjidin Aslov presented the situation along the borders between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, his country’s fight against illegal drug trafficking and extremism. Foreign Minister of Tajikistan expressed gratitude to Armenia for its support to Tajikistan within the CSTO regarding the abovementioned issues. At the end of the meeting, the Ministers signed the 2016-2018 Program of Consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Tajikistan. The Ministers delivered press statements following the meeting.
