Tajikistan Weekly

Tajikistan has just entered the 4th decade of its independence and yet, the landlocked Central Asian country maintains its economy mainly through migrant-worker remittances from Russia, which constitute 40% of its GDP, and loans from China, to whom it owes over $1.1 billion.

Despite its geo-strategic importance, Tajikistan is rarely discussed in the mainstream media, and its significant position in the development of the BRI as a whole often goes neglected. The aim of the "Tajikistan Weekly" project is to bring to light the local, regional and cross-regional events affecting the Central Asian country, and to call attention to the latest developments in this severely in-debted yet highly strategic Belt and Road partner state.

Humanitarian Cooperation between Russia & Tajikistan; Tajikistan & Kyrgyzstan define ~ 17 KM of the Border; Tajikistan & Iran sign 25 new Cooperation Documents; Four Civil Society Activists Convicted in One Week. /12.12.2022

_{Image source: Tajik Press}

This past week, the international panel discussion on Tajik-Russian relations in the humanitarian sphere was held in Dushanbe; while the regular meeting of the topographical working groups of the governmental delegations of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on the delimitation and demarcation of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border took place; Tajikistan and Iran signed more than 25 documents during a two-day meeting of the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation, and the Supreme Court of Tajikistan sentenced four civil society activists from Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) to long terms of imprisonment in one week.

: 12 December 2022

China-Central Asia: The new roads of “The Belt and Road”; Tajikistan hosts the first Luban Workshop in Central Asia; Tajikistan and OSCE sign a new MOU; Armed incident on the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan border. /05.12.2022

_{Image source: Eurasianet}

This past week, Tajikistan signed a contract with a new Chinese company for road construction; The first Luban Workshop in Central Asia was launched in Dushanbe, Tajikistan; On the margins of the 29th Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Tajikistan and the OSCE discussed key issues of cooperation; Authorities in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan reported of investigating a brawl incident that occurred at the border.

: 05 December 2022

CSTO Summit in Yerevan; CIS Heads of Financial Intelligence Units meet in Dushanbe; Tajikistan & Germany sign Agreements worth €600 mil.; Kyrgyzstan & Tajikistan reach Preliminary Border Agreement; Rahmon & Macron hold Talks on Afghanistan. /28.11.2022

_{Image source: CSTO}

This past week, CSC members gathered in Yerevan to discuss topical international and regional security issues and the main outcomes of CSTO operations; Dushanbe hosted a meeting of the Council of Heads of Financial Intelligence Units of CIS countries; Tajikistan signed agreements and memoranda worth more than 600 million Euros with German and European companies; At the People's Kurultai, Sadyr Japarov stated that Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan had reached a preliminary agreement on the border; and during a telephone conversation, Emomali Rahmon and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the situation in Afghanistan.

: 28 November 2022

EDB’s China-Central Asia Report; 30 years of Emomali Rahmon's Rule; Chinese Ambassador delivers Lecture at Tajik National University; Kyrgyzstan intends to resolve Border issues with Tajikistan; Upcoming EU-Tajikistan Agreements. /21.11.2022

_{Image source: TNU}

This past week, Eurasian Development Bank published a report on China’s new plans for expanding its influence in Central Asia; Tajikistan observed 30 years of Emomali Rahmon’s presidency; The Chinese ambassador gave a lecture on China's new development plan and new perspectives on Sino-Tajik relations; Kyrgyz authorities spoke of plans to resolve border issues with Tajikistan by the new year; EU and Tajikistan announced the possibility of an agreement in the energy and water sectors.

: 21 November 2022

Tajikistan and the UN hold discussions on counter-terrorism; Ashgabat hosts 11th meeting of Turkmen-Tajik intergovernmental commission; Tajikistan and the United States discuss ways to enhance environmental cooperation. /14.11.2022

_{Image source: COP 27}

This past week, representatives of Tajikistan and the UN Under-Secretary-General discussed issues related to countering terrorism and extremism; The 11th meeting of the Tajik-Turkmen Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation was held in Ashgabat, where the parties discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation; The United States and Tajikistan agreed to increase cooperation on climate change and environmental issues; A government decree approved a list of 26 rankings in which the country's position is considered important.

: 14 November 2022

Pamir activist sentenced to 16 years in prison; Xi’s re-election & Tajikistan discussed; 85th CIS Border Management Expert Group meet; Parliament Passes Patriotism Bill; Rahmon comments on saving Fedchenko Glacier. /7.11.22

_{Image source: MFA of Tajikistan}

This past week, the media covered how Xi Jinping's re-election would affect Tajikistan and the entire region, Tajikistan celebrated the 28th anniversary of the adoption of its constitution, Dushanbe hosted a meeting of a group of experts from CIS border guard agencies, Tajik parliament passed Rustam Emomali's bill on patriotism, while the President of Tajikistan raised the issue of climate change claiming it should be the focus of international attention, and a court in Dushanbe sentences a Pamiri leader to 16 years in prison.

: 07 November 2022

5th meeting of Intergovernmental Commission of Tajikistan and South Korea; Joint scientific conference for expanding ties between Tajikistan and China; Emomali Rahmon Speaks at CSTO meeting; CPJ calls on Tajikistan to release journalists. /31.10.2022

_{Image source: MFA of Tajikistan}

This past week, Tajikistan and South Korea held the fifth meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission where they discussed increasing trade turnover and expanding cooperation in various areas with the strengthening of the legal framework, while Tajikistan and China discussed holding a joint scientific conference to expand political, economic and cultural relations; Emomali Rahmon participated in an extraordinary session of the CSTO Collective Security Council to discuss the results of the CSTO mission that was sent to Armenia; and CPJ called on Tajikistan to provide a "full response" to the allegations of torture and ill-treatment made by blogger Abdusattor Pirmukhammadzoda.

: 31 October 2022

Journalist Daler Imomali sentenced to 10 years in prison; Training of CSTO "Rubezh 2022" completed in Tajikistan; Rahmon congratulated Xi Jinping on his re-election as General Secretary of the CCP Central Committee. /24.10.22

_{Image source: Eurasianet}

This past week, Daler Imomali, one of the four recently-detained journalists, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, Emomali Rahmon met with the Secretary General of the CSTO and discussed Tajikistan's cooperation with the CSTO, where he spoke about the need to develop new and innovative approaches to jointly combat terrorism, extremist ideology and religious extremism, The heads of the border departments of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan stated that the situation on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border is assessed as stable, The "Rubezh-2022" exercise of the Collective Rapid Deployment Forces (CRDF) of the CSTO member states of the Central Asian region (CAR) was completed in Tajikistan, and the Tajik leader congratulated Xi Jinping on his re-election as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

: 24 October 2022

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Tajikistan Weekly