Iran’s FM, Tajikistan’s president discuss joint battle against terrorism, extremism
Iran’s foreign minister has conferred with President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon on the sidelines of the ongoing regional conference in the Central Asian country’s capital, themed “Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process.”
During the Monday meeting, Tajikistan’s president and Mohammad Javad Zarif discussed the joint fight against terrorism and extremism, smuggling of illicit drugs and organized crime among other topics.
The two sides also discussed other areas of bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the areas such as economy, trade, energy, industry, transportation, science and culture.
The president of Tajikistan and Iran’s foreign minister stressed the important role of the two countries’ joint cooperation committee in facilitating further collaboration between Tehran and Dushanbe.
Earlier in the day, Zarif met with Afghan Foreign Minister Mohammad Hanif Atmar, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Executive Director of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Kairat Sarybay.
Speaking upon arrival in the Tajik capital on Sunday, the Iranian foreign minister said Tehran seeks to help establish peace in Afghanistan and end hostilities in the war-torn country.
The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process was launched in the city of Istanbul in 2011 as a platform for promoting regional security, economic, and political cooperation centered on Afghanistan. The mechanism specifies dialogue and confidence-building measures as the main vehicles that it uses to implement the goals.
The Heart of Asia is comprised of 15 countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Republic of Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The previous meetings of the Heart of Asia conference have been held from 2011 to 2019 in Kabul, Almaty, Beijing, Islamabad, Amritsar, Baku and Istanbul.
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