24 April 2009 - NATO PA DELEGATION IN FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO TAJIKISTAN

Discussions focused on the impact of the situation in Afghanistan on Tajikistan, and Tajikistan’s potential contribution to stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan; Tajikistan’s “open door” foreign policy, and, in particular, its relations with Russia, China, Iran, and NATO; the challenges posed by drug trafficking, religious extremism and terrorism to stability in Tajikistan and the Central Asian region; and water and energy issues in Central Asia.

The NATO PA delegation meeting with Foreign Minister Zafiri

Foreign Minister Zafiri told the delegation that “the security and the stability of Central Asia depend entirely on the situation in Afghanistan ”. Tajikistan has already developed joint initiatives with Afghanistan, including a small training initiative for officers of the Afghan army led by the Tajik Ministry of Defense with US assistance, and co-operation between the Tajik Drugs Control Agency and Afghan authorities on border management and counter-narcotics. Tajikistan also agreed to serve as a transit route for non-military cargo bound for Afghanistan. Mr Zafiri and other government officials stressed Tajikistan ’s readiness to go even further in assisting with stabilization and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.

At the press conference held on Tuesday 22 April following the delegation’s meeting with Tajik President Rahmon, Mr Canas recognized the positive stabilizing role Tajikistan can play in the region. He also praised Tajikistan ’s management of its relations with all major regional players as part of its so-called “open door” foreign policy.

Vitalino Canas (Portugal) and President Rahmon

While bilateral relations with individual NATO countries are strong, Tajikistan ’s relations with NATO are still at an early stage. Tajikistan joined the Partnership for Peace Programme in 2002, and implements an Individual Partnership Programme with NATO. Tajik authorities expressed readiness to strengthen relations with NATO in certain areas, most importantly on Afghanistan, but also in relation to other regional challenges. President Rahmon and Speakers of both houses of Parliament also called for closer relations between the Tajik Parliament and the NATO PA. Tajik parliamentarians acknowledged that the Tajik Parliament is still a young institution, but also emphasized the achievements of its past 9 years of activity.

Drug trafficking remains a major problem throughout Central Asia, and particularly in Tajikistan, which shares a 1,400 km border with Afghanistan. Although Tajikistan ranks high in the amount of drugs seized on its territory, this only represents a small amount of Afghanistan ’s estimated production. Tajikistan ’s authorities were thankful for the many assistance initiatives they benefit from in this area. President Rahmon stressed that Tajikistan could play the role of a buffer zone against threats coming from Afghanistan, including drugs and terrorism, but for this it needed continuous international support in training and equipping its border guards.

Another major regional challenge relates to the management of water and energy resources. Tajikistan  has vast water resources, yet these are still largely untapped. Tajik Minister for Energy and Industry Sherali Gulov presented his country’s plans to address the current severe seasonal water shortages. A key project is the completion of the construction of the Rogun dam, a project that is however strongly opposed by neighboring Uzbekistan  , citing concerns regarding the potential impact of this project on its own water supplies. Several Tajik officials stressed how tensions between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were a major impediment to a regional solution on this issue, although, in their view, the development of such new energy projects would boost economic growth in the region, and thereby benefit all countries. 

Vitalino Canas (Portugal) discusses the Rogun dam project with Minister for Energy and Industry Gulov

Tajik President’s Rahmon and many speakers mentioned the impact of the civil war on Tajikistan  ’s society, and how it influences Tajikistan  ’s policy towards extremist religious groups. Given this experience from the civil war, the threat that extremist religious groups would attempt to establish an Islamic state in Tajikistan is of great concern to Tajik authorities. However, Tajik officials also stressed the fact that Tajikistan is the only country in the region in which an Islamic party is allowed to operate and is even represented in the Parliament.  

The Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security will discuss a report by Marc Angel (Luxemburg), Rapporteur of the Subcommittee on Democratic Governance, on “Regional Security Challenges and Co-operation in Central Asia”, at the upcoming NATO PA’s spring session in Olso, Norway, on 23-26 May 2009. A draft version of this report will be available shortly here:

http://www.nato-pa.int/Default.asp?SHORTCUT=1765