Meeting of Tajik Foreign Minister with US Secretary of State

Dushanbe, May 17. (NIAT “Khovar”).-

On May 16, 2012, a meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan Hamrokhon Zarifi and United States Secretary of State Madame Hillary Clinton took place at the US State Department.

In the beginning of the meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan noted the importance of the visit of Mrs. Clinton to Tajikistan in late 2011 and the outcome of the held talks.
The Minister said that the planned for tomorrow bilateral consultations between Tajikistan and the United States will provide a good basis to discuss both bilateral and regional or international issues.

Among the topics included in the agenda of the consultations, along with bilateral issues, Foreign Minister of Tajikistan emphasized the issues related to the situation in Afghanistan, the withdrawal of international forces from that country by 2014 and the assistance of the United States to Tajikistan to strengthen border security and enforcement.

In her turn, U.S. Secretary of State noted a good level of bilateral cooperation between the countries and expressed appreciation to Tajikistan for its support of coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Mrs. Clinton emphasized the important role of Tajikistan and other Central Asian states in the settlement of the situation in Afghanistan and reaffirmed the U.S. willingness to continue assisting Tajikistan in strengthening its borders and in the fight against drug trafficking, terrorism and other challenges.

The two sides also discussed the implementation of the agreements reached during the RECCA V Conference regarding infrastructure projects in Afghanistan, supporting Tajikistan in its efforts to join the WTO, development of democratic and civil societies in Tajikistan and other bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. (provided by www.mfa.tj)