Four years ago, on March 3, 2022, the cities of Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and Baku, Azerbaijan, formalized sister-city relations with the signing of an agreement in Baku.

The agreement was signed during an official visit to Azerbaijan by Rustam Emomali, Chairman of the National Assembly of Tajikistan, Mayor of Dushanbe. During the visit, he met with Eldar Azizov, head of Baku’s executive authority.

At the start of the talks, Rustam Emomali highlighted the role of the constructive policies of the leaders of the two countries — President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan — in strengthening bilateral relations.

The two sides expressed interest in expanding cooperation between Dushanbe and Baku, including in trade and economic activities, science, culture, tourism, and the exchange of experience between city-level institutions.

The signing of the agreement formally established sister-city relations between Dushanbe and Baku.

Dushanbe has now established sister-city partnerships with more than 20 cities worldwide, including Klagenfurt, Austria; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Reutlingen, Germany; Doha, Qatar; Islamabad, Pakistan; Astana, Kazakhstan; Lusaka, Zambia; Sana’a, Yemen; Tehran and Shiraz, Iran; St. Petersburg, Russia; Minsk, Belarus; Ashgabat, Turkmenistan; Ankara, Turkey; and several cities and provinces in China, including Urumqi, Xiamen, Qingdao, and Hainan Province. Cooperation with these cities continues to grow across multiple sectors.