DUSHANBE, 14.06.2017. /NIAT “Khovar”/. In the afternoon of June 14, 2017, the official visit of the Founder of Peace and National Unity – Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon to the Republic of Armenia started with the official meeting ceremony at the “Presidential Palace”.

The issues related to the development of friendly relations and the expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation were considered first at a tete-a-tete meeting of the two heads of state Emomali Rahmon and Serzh Sargsyan, and then continued at the extended talks of the delegations of Tajikistan and Armenia.

The Head of State of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, expressing gratitude for the warm and sincere welcome to the Government and the friendly Armenian people, mentioned the ancient relations of the two countries, the contribution of the peoples to the development and progress of the world community, the aspirations of the Armenian people for the prosperity of their homeland.

President of the country Emomali Rahmon, expressing satisfaction with the current level of bilateral relations, noted that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries and Tajikistan is interested in close and beneficial cooperation. We will try to give serious impetus to the realization of our plans and good intentions through summit talks.

The adoption of the Agreement on Friendship and Cooperation, the creation of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic and Trade Cooperation was called an important factor for the expansion of political, trade, economic, investment, educational and cultural relations.

It was stressed that the bilateral and multilateral ties between Tajikistan and Armenia within the UN, CIS, CSTO and other regional and international organizations create favorable opportunities for resolving international issues, including in the area of countering terrorism, extremism and other modern world threats.

During the meeting, it was suggested to establish direct ties between the economic entities of both sides in order to increase the volume of turnover of goods and products, develop trade and economic cooperation and find access to each other’s consumer markets. Cooperation in the fields of hydropower, mining, light and food industries, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, transport and communications, as well as in the areas of communication and tourism was called one of the promising domains for the development of bilateral relations.

It was also considered necessary to use the opportunities of free economic zones in the interests of both countries to create joint industrial enterprises, workshops for the processing of agricultural products, cotton, stones and precious metals, the production of aluminum goods and other household utensils.

Referring to security issues, the sides proposed important and beneficial ways to solve problems and conflicts in hot-spot regions and other belligerent countries.

There was expressed confidence that, in general, the results of today’s summit talks will actively promote the enhancement of relations between the two friendly countries.

At the end of the meeting, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon invited the President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan to pay a return official visit to Tajikistan at his convenience. The invitation was accepted with pleasure.

Following the results of bilateral meetings and official visit of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Republic of Armenia, Joint Statement of Heads of State was adopted and 9 new documents on cooperation were signed:

— Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on mutual trips of citizens;

— Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on air communication;

— Program of cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia for 2018-2019;

— Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on cooperation in the field of telecommunications and postal communication;

— Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on mutual recognition and compatibility of qualifications of education, academic degrees and titles;

— Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on cooperation in the field of healthcare;

— Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Government of the Republic of Armenia on cooperation in the field of youth affairs and sports;

— Agreement on cooperation between the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Armenia;

— Agreement between the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan and the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia on scientific cooperation.

It should be noted that more than 30 documents covering various issues of bilateral relations in the spheres of economy, trade, agriculture, health, culture, science and education constituted the legal basis of bilateral relations up to date.

The two heads of state Emomali Rahmon and Serzh Sargsyan held a press conference following bilateral meeting for a wide range of journalists, evaluated the results of summit talks as successful for the development and expansion of friendly relations and cooperation.