Pakistan, Tajikistan agree to promote land-based connectivity at Islamabad meeting

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Tajikistan on Friday agreed to enhance cooperation in land-based connectivity, Pakistani state media reported, amid Pakistan’s efforts to consolidate its role as a pivotal trade and transit hub connecting the landlocked Central Asian states with the rest of the world.
The understanding was reached at a meeting between Tajikistan Energy Minister Juma Daler Shofaqir and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad, according to Pakistan’s APP news agency.
Shofaqir is visiting Pakistan to participate in the Pakistan-Tajikistan Joint Commission. The prime minister welcomed him and expressed satisfaction with the progress made in bilateral cooperation between the two countries in various sectors.
“Both sides agreed to further promote cooperation in sectors such as communications, particularly land-based connectivity, energy, education, and agriculture,” the APP reported.
The development came a day after Pakistan and Tajikistan signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) at the seventh session of the Pakistan-Tajikistan Joint Commission held in Islamabad this week, according to Pakistani state media.
The first MoU forges a “historic partnership” between Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Tajikistan’s Khatlon province, paving the way for enhanced cooperation and mutual development. A second MoU has been signed between the Pakistani and Tajik football federations.
PM Sharif expressed satisfaction over the MoUs reached during the Tajik energy minister’s visit to Pakistan and emphasized that timely implementation of these agreements would further strengthen bilateral relations.
“The Tajik minister thanked the prime minister for the warm welcome and hospitality and emphasized the importance of enhancing relations and cooperation between the two countries,” the APP report read.
There has been a flurry of visits, investment talks and economic activity between officials from Pakistan and the Central Asian nations in recent weeks. Tajikistan is Pakistan’s closest neighbor in Central Asia with a narrow strip of 14km through the Wakhan corridor separating the two countries.
On Wednesday, speaking at the Joint Commission in Islamabad along with Shofaqir, Pakistan’s Power Minister Sardar Awais Leghari said both nations needed to explore “new avenues of cooperation” in commercial and economic fields.
“I’m pleased to note that both sides have agreed to create a joint coordination committee on transit trade under the Tajikistan-Pakistan trade transit agreement, which will play a pivotal role in addressing operational challenges and ensuring the smooth implementation of transit trade provisions,” Leghari said.
He hoped deliberations of the joint commission would aid in preparing “concrete” recommendations to advance further growth in the fields of trade, energy, agriculture and education as well as the industrial sector.