On October 11, the Founder of Peace and National Unity — Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon had a meeting with Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah on the sideline of the meeting of SCO Council of Heads of Government.

During the meeting the two sides discussed current matters pertaining to bilateral relations, as well as international and regional agenda, in particular, within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The President of our country, Emomali Rahmon, welcomed Abdullah Abdullah here in Tajikistan and stressed that “We tried to make efforts since the first days of Tajikistan’s independence to achieve peace and stability in the friendly and neighboring country — Afghanistan.”

The sides expressed concern about the bloody clashes in Islamic countries, the proliferation of the destructive activities of terrorist and extremist forces, the increasing geopolitical and geostrategic confrontation.

It was stressed that the joint struggle against global threats, such as terrorism, extremism, illicit drug trafficking, transnational organized crime and other forms requires to enhance cooperation in the field of national security.

Energy and road infrastructure collaboration has been identified as a priority of bilateral relations. The implementation of the CASA-1000 project and construction of trilateral Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Turkmenistan (TAT) railway was called the best example of bilateral ties.

The parties expressed readiness to expand cooperation in the areas of trade and investment, science and education, culture, healthcare and information. During the meeting, the parties also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.