TABNAK: Over 44 cooperation agreements have been signed between Tehran and Dushanbe, said Tajik Ambassador to Iran Nizamuddin Zahedi, as the two countries improved bilateral relations after a nine-year break as the Central Asian country’s President Emomali Rahmon visited Tehran in 2022.
His visit was followed by late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s presence in Tajikistan in 2021 for Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.
Tajikistan needs Iran’s military knowhow and expertise to deal with military threats from neighboring Kyrgyzstan. Iran helped Dushanbe open a drone manufacturing plant named ‘Ababil’ in its territory.
Moreover, the volume of trade between the Tehran and Dushanbe was about US$57 million in 2021, however it surged to US$270 million in 2023 with the two sides have vowed to raise it to US$500 million, according to the Tajik ambassador.
The two sides have signed various deals in trade, economy, fighting drug trafficking, transportation, culture, art, shared free zones, education, and technology so far.
In another development late April, the deputy transport minister of Tajikistan said her country is interested in investing at Iran’s Chabahar Port in logistics affairs.
In a meeting with Iran’s Deputy Minister of Transport and Urban Development Ali Akbar Safaei, Shayesta Moradzadeh emphasized the interest of her country in making investments at the port in logistics affairs.
As Iran's only oceanic port on the Gulf of Oman, Chabahar Port holds great significance for the country both politically and economically. The country has taken serious measures for developing this port in order to improve the country’s maritime trade.