Sunday, August 31, 2008

Tajikistan, Russia to boost strategic partnership

The presidents of Tajikistan and Russia on Friday agreed to further expand friendly exchange and deepen strategic partnership between their two countries.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev arrived here Friday for an official visit at the invitation of his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rakhmon, according to Rakhmon's website which posted a joint statement issued by the two presidents.

During their talks, Medvedev and Rakhmon discussed the Russian-Tajik relations and their prospects and exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern.

They spoke highly of the development of bilateral trade, which grows 50 percent annually on the average, saying hydropower would be a priority of their future cooperation.

The two countries will also cooperate in natural gas explorations in the Tajik territory, said the statement.

The two presidents said the two countries hold similar positions on important international issues, and agreed to expand their constructive bilateral cooperation and work with each other within the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Community, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization , the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and other regional and world organizations.

Tajikistan and Russia highly value their cooperation in the framework of the SCO, which they believe plays a vital role in safeguarding security in central Asia and promoting trade and cultural cooperation among its member nations.

Source: Xinhua

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