DUSHANBE, SEP 17 (DNA) – Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Friday that Prime Minister Imran Khan had desired that Pakistan and Tajikistan should play role in bringing various Afghan ethnic factions closer.

In a media talk the minister said that Tajikistan has an important role to play in bringing durable peace and stability in Afghanistan.

He said that Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security Moeed Yousuf and Pakistan’s Ambassador to Tajikistan were also present. He said that after the summit,

Pakistan delegation would go to Presidential Palace where bilateral talks would begin. He said that besides other issues of mutual interest, Afghanistan situation would also figure in the talks. 

The joing statement issued after the meeting between the Tajik President and Prime Minister Imran Khan said, the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan H.E. Imran Khan paid an official visit to the Republic of Tajikistan on 16-17 September 2021 on the invitation of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan H.E. Emomali Rahmon. Prime Minister H.E. Imran Khan also participated in the Jubilee Summit of the Council of Heads of State of Shanghai Cooperation Organization besides his official visit.

The two leaders had wide-ranging deliberations covering all aspects of the mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation, and regional and international issues of common interest during the tete-a-tete and delegation-level talks.

Prime Minister Imran Khan commended President Emomali Rahmon for hosting the Jubilee Summit of the Council of Heads of State of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and other events in Dushanbe during the SCO Chairmanship of Republic of Tajikistan.

Both leaders agreed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Tajikistan in 2022 in a befitting manner.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction over the growing mutually beneficial political, trade, economic, scientific, technical, and cultural cooperation between the two countries. They underscored the importance of following Joint Statement/Declarations signed earlier: Joint Statement “Towards Strategic Partnership for Regional Solidarity” between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan signed on 5 July 2017; the Joint Declaration “Strengthening the Pathway to Strategic Partnership for Regional Solidarity” between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan signed on 19 June 2018; and the Joint Declaration on “Next Steps to Build Strategic Partnership for Regional Solidarity and Integration” of 2 June 2021.

The two leaders, building on the previous understandings and given the strong desire of the two countries to further promote mutual cooperation in diverse areas, decided to upgrade the bilateral relations to the level of a long-term strategic partnership. They underscored that the strategic partnership aimed at ensuring the two countries’ security, mutual trust, countering the current global threats and challenges, enhancing regional stability, and expanding political, economic and humanitarian cooperation, would create a sustainable foundation for development of long-term relations between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.