On March 9-10, 2018, at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev paid a state visit to the Republic of Tajikistan.

During the fruitful talks held in an open, friendly and constructive atmosphere, the Heads of State discussed in detail key issues of the current state of relations between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan, prospects for further expanding and deepening of bilateral multifaceted cooperation in the political, trade and economic, transport and communication, culture and humanitarian and other fields, as well as current regional and international issues of mutual interest.

The Heads of State underlined with satisfaction a high level inter-state dialogue, achieved in recent years, as well as credible positive dynamics of the development of cooperation between the two countries, and

guided by the centuries-old historical and cultural communality of the peoples of the two countries, based on the firm principles of friendship, good neighborliness and mutual respect,

expressing their belief that constructive and mutually beneficial cooperation between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan meets the long-term interests of peoples of the two countries, which is  also a key factor in ensuring peace, stability, security and sustainable development throughout the vast region of the Central Asia,

reaffirming adherence to the universally recognized principles and norms of international law, as well as the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, including the principles of mutual respect for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, inviolability of borders, non-interference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit,

striving for further expanding and deepening of Tajik-Uzbek relations, ensuring the timely and full implementation of the reached agreements,

state the following:

1. The Heads of State, being deeply aware of their high responsibility for maintaining and strengthening peace and stability, ensuring development and prosperity in the whole region, also being guided by the provisions of the Treaty on Eternal Friendship between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 15 June 2000, confirm their determination to further develop and strengthen the relations of traditional friendship, neighborliness and cooperation between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The two leaders expressed their confidence that the Agreement between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan on certain parts of the Tajik-Uzbek State border signed during the visit will serve for these purposes.

The Heads of State stressed the importance of transforming the State border between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan into a border of friendship, good neighborliness and cooperation that meets the vital interests of the two brotherly people.

2. The Parties, noting the significance of constructive political dialogue for the progressive expansion of relations between the two states, supported the further development of contacts at the highest, higher and other levels.

Aimed at further development of the legal framework for long-term cooperation and overall implementation of the existing huge potential in all spheres of cooperation, the Presidents agreed to develop a Treaty on Strategic Partnership between the two states in the nearest future.

3. The President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon expressed his support for the large-scale reforms carried out by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev in Uzbekistan, which is aimed at strengthening the country’s potential, developing the national economy, improving wellbeing of the people and strengthening the international prestige of the country.

The leadership of the Republic of Tajikistan expressed its support for the initiatives of the Republic of Uzbekistan to intensify regional cooperation, in particular, to organize a consultative meeting of the Heads of State of the Central Asia on a regular basis.

4. The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoev expressed his support to the efforts of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon on ensuring the social-economic development of Tajikistan and strengthening the regional security.

The leadership of Uzbekistan expressed its support to Tajikistan’s initiative on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” 2018-2028.

5. The Presidents stressed on the strategic character of further expansion of the mutually beneficial trade and economic cooperation between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Parties noted with satisfaction credible positive dynamics in mutual trade cooperation and stressed the presence of significant potential for diversification of nomenclature of bilateral goods turnover and to increase its volume up to $ US 500 million in near future.

In this regard, the Parties emphasized the importance of further expansion of mutual trade nomenclature. Parties noted that there is a great potential for developing industrial cooperation, establishing joint ventures and trading houses, active developing the infrastructure for foreign trade and mechanisms for export and import operations, as well as conducting business-forums and national exhibitions of industrial products on mutual basis.

The Parties will take joint efforts to attract and encourage investments to the economy of the both countries. In this context, the Presidents welcome signing of Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on encouragement and mutual protection of investments.

The Parties noted the successful conducting mutually of the national exhibitions and business forums in Dushanbe and Tashkent in 2017, which resulted in expanding of contacts between the business circles and signing of huge set of trade agreements and contracts.

An exhibition entitled “Made in Uzbekistan” and the Joint Tajik-Uzbek Business-Forum organized in the framework of the high-level visit were highly appreciated.

Heads of the two states positively valued the results of the 5th meeting of Inter-Governmental Commission on trade and economic cooperation, conducted on 10 January 2018 in Dushanbe, and underlined the necessity of further strengthening its role as an effective mechanism for resolving a set of issues related to the development of trade and economic and culture and humanitarian cooperation, as well as to defining new perspective directions of intercation.

The Parties noted the necessity of expanding and deepening of the relations between the two countries’ regions in trade and economic, science and technical, as well as culture and humanitarian spheres within the framework of Agreement between the Republic of Uzbekistan the Republic of Tajikistan on interregional cooperation, signed during the visit.

6. The Heads of State, paying a particular attention to comprehensive implementation of common transport and communication opportunities and transit potential of the both countries, instructed the relevant authorities to intensify cooperation in the sphere of transport communication and address the issues of renewal of existing and elaborating of new transit automobile, railway and flight routes.

The Presidents underlined with a great satisfaction the opening of a direct flight between Tashkent and Dushanbe on April 2017.

The Parties noted that the renewal of previous and opening of new transit automobile, railway and flight routes between the cities of the two countries will contribute to intensification of cultural, humanitarian and trade and economic relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

There was noted that the further cooperation on forming competitive tariffs for transportation of foreign-trade goods with participation of railways of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan will allow to ensure the effective use of the current transport corridors.

In this context, the Heads of the two states welcome the renewal of railway communication at the “Ghalaba-Amuzang” section.

7. The Heads of the both states emphasized the priority of cooperation on culture and humanitarian sphere, development of direct contacts and exchange of experience between the scientific institutions, educational establishments, mass media, creative and sport teams, youth and women organizations, trade unions and other institutions of the civil society.

The Heads of State highly appreciated the successful conducting of the Culture Days of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Republic of Tajikistan and the Culture Days of the Republic of Tajikistan in the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017.

The Heads of State noted the importance of enhancing of cooperation in the sphere of education and science, including through strengthening cooperation between higher education institutions and academies of sciences of the two countries.

The Parties will cooperate and create favorable condition in the sphere of training scientific and teaching staff, exchange of scholars, specialists, higher-education teaching personnel and students, as well as information on mutual recognition of educational certificates, qualifications and academic degrees.

8. The Parties will further continue to create favorable conditions for the activities of national cultural centers on the territory of two states in preserving and developing of native language, culture, traditions and customs, taking measures to ensure rights and interests of citizens of one state residing in the territory of the other State.

The Presidents of the two states will pay attention to the improvement of learning and teaching of the Tajik language in Uzbekistan and the Uzbek language in Tajikistan, expansion of networks of general education institutions with Tajik and Uzbek languages of study, establishment of cooperation on exchange of educational and fiction books, periodicals and scientific publishing, as well as on support of translation of classical writers and poets and contemporary authors of the two countries.

The Tajik side welcomed the establishment of a monument to the outstanding representatives of the two peoples A. Jami and A. Navoi, as well as the reconstruction of the museum of the founder of modern Tajik literature S. Ayni in the city of Samarkand.

The Uzbek side, in turn, welcomed the decision of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan to build a park named after A.Navoi in Dushanbe and to install a monument to A. Jami and A. Navoi therein.

9. The Parties welcomed resumption of the functioning of border checkpoints in the Tajik-Uzbek State border and stressed that their full-fledged function will serve for interests of the both peoples and create favorable conditions for the further development of the bilateral ties.

The Heads of State noted with satisfaction the introduction of a visa-free regime for a mutual travel of citizens of the two states up to 30 days, which will foster expanded contacts between the peoples of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

10. The Presidents confirmed their readiness to strengthen cooperation in countering terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking, transnational organized crime, illegal arms trade, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, illegal migration and other challenges and threats to the regional and international security, both in bilateral and international formats, as well as to prevent unlawful activities directed against interests of the national security of the Parties in their territories.

In this respect, all necessary measures will be taken to improve cooperation through consultations of the relevant structures of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

11. The Heads of the two states reaffirmed their readiness to develop cooperation in the military and military-technical fields, as well as in military education on mutually beneficial terms.

12. The Presidents welcomed establishment of a joint Tajik-Uzbek working group on neutralization of sites with engineering obstacles in the border areas between the two countries and noted the necessity to complete this work in 2018-2019.

13. The Presidents noted the importance of deepening cooperation, enhancing of practical interaction and implementing specific activities in the sphere of disaster management.

14. The Parties confirmed the concurrence or closeness of the positions on current issues of ensuring peace, stability, security and sustainable development in the Central Asia.

The Heads of state stressed that the whole set of intra-regional problems in the Central Asia can and should be solved only by states of the region through an open and constructive dialogue, based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit, respect and consideration of each other’s interests.

15. The Presidents stressed that one of the key factors of prosperity in the Central Asia is an integrated use of water and energy resources, by taking into account the interests of all states of the region. The importance of open dialogue, strengthening of mutual understanding and developing of constructive cooperation, searching for mutually acceptable, fair and rational solutions was noted.

The parties expressed their mutual interest in developing regional partnership in the sphere of rational and fair use of water resources and stressed the importance of existing hydropower facilities for the Central Asia, and those under construction, in order to solve water and energy problems.

In this context, the Uzbek side expressed its readiness to comprehensively consider the possibility of participating in the construction of hydropower facilities in the Republic of Tajikistan, including Roghun HPS, taking into account the universally recognized international norms and standards on the construction of such facilities.

The Heads of state stressed the necessity to improve the legal mechanisms for the integrated and effective use of transboundary water resources of the Central Asia that facilitate a constructive dialogue, taking into account the interests of all states of the region.

The Parties welcome conducting of the Central Asian International Ecological Forum (Tashkent, June 5-8, 2018) and an International High-Level Conference on International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development,” 2018-2028 (Dushanbe, June 20-22, 2018).

16. The Presidents agree that the resolution of any contradictions and disagreements in the international affairs is possible only through political means, through negotiations and other peaceful means, with strict observance of the universally recognized norms of international law and the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

The Parties noted the substantial potential for continuation and strengthening of bilateral cooperation in the international arena and expressed a mutual desire to further develop their cooperation within the framework of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other international organizations.

The Presidents agree that the UN remains the leading universal international structure promoting maintainance of global security, as well as the main platform for resolving interstate and international problems. The Parties reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening its central coordinating role in international relations.

The Parties welcome conducting a International High-Level Conference on Afghanistan «Peace Process, Cooperation in the Sphere of Security and the Regional Cooperation» (Tashkent, March 26-27, 2018) and a High-Level International Conference on Combating Terrorism and Radicalism (Dushanbe, May 3-4, 2018).

The Tajik side supported the initiative of the Uzbek side on the development and promotion of the UN General Assembly resolutions «Strengthening regional and international cooperation for peace, stability and sustainable development in the Central Asian region» and «Education and religious tolerance», as well as the UN Convention on the Rights of Youth.

The Parties, taking into account Tajikistan`s chairmanship in the CIS in 2018, expressed mutual interest in more effective use of the Commonwealth’s mechanisms for its transformation into an effective platform for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation.

The Uzbek side supported the initiative of the Tajik side to establish a Counternarcotic Center of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Dushanbe.

The support of the Tajik side rendered to the initiatives of the Uzbek side on organization of regular meetings of heads of the railway administrations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization countries and to adopt a Joint appeal of the heads of SCO member states to the youth was appreciated

The Presidents highly appreciated the constructive interaction of the two countries within the framework of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The Tajik side supported the proposal of Uzbek side to hold the second OIC Summit on Science and Technology in 2020 in Uzbekistan.

17. The Heads of State expressed their commitment to implement the signed bilateral documents between the Parties timely and in a good faith, and spoke out in favor of the further improvement and expansion of the legal base to enhance the Tajik-Uzbek relations in the areas of mutual interest.

The Parties expressed satisfaction with the results of the State visit of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Republic of Tajikistan and stressed that the talks held and the documents signed during the visit will give a new impetus to the further development of bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation in the various fields, and will also importantantly contribute to comprehensive deepening of the interstate relations.

18. The President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev expressed his gratitude to the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, and all the Tajik people for the hospitality extended to the Uzbek delegation, as well as a cordial and friendly reception, and invited the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon to pay a return State visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan. Exact date of the visit will be coordinated through the diplomatic channels.