ISLAMABAD: Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon arrived here on Wednesday on a two-day visit to Pakistan at the invitation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The Tajik leader was received by Prime Minister Sharif at the Nur Khan airbase.

Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Adviser to PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to PM Syed Tariq Fatemi, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry and other high officials accompanied the prime minister. It’s President Rahmon’s sixth visit to Pakistan. The Tajik leader is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers and other senior officials. The visit is being considered significant, especially in the context of the shared desire to enhance cooperation in economy, energy, infrastructure development for rail and road links, air connectivity, and political, social, human resource development and cultural spheres, and defence and security relations.

The CASA-1000, a project of regional energy cooperation among Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, will be another major area of cooperation to be discussed by the visiting dignitary with his hosts.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2015