Tajikistan and China sign 18 cooperation agreements

The documents were signed here on June 15 following talks between Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The agreements signed in Dushanbe, in particular, include documents on investment, agriculture, joint business ventures, and fighting terrorism.

China’s media reports say President Xi and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon witnessed the signing of a number of cooperation documents covering such areas as infrastructure, agriculture, investment and anti-terror.

The two presidents also signed a joint statement to further deepen the China-Tajikistan comprehensive strategic partnership for common development and prosperity, according to Xinhua.

The statement says China and Tajikistan will continue to support each other on issues concerning their core interests, such as national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and to give priority to the development of bilateral ties.

The two countries reportedly pledged in the statement to advance the in-depth alignment between the Belt and Road Initiative and Tajikistan's national development strategy for the period up to 2030 with a view to building a China-Tajikistan community of development.

After their talks, the two heads of state attended a ceremony to unveil construction models of the parliament building and a government office building, with China providing assistance in both.  They were also briefed on the designs and cooperation details of the projects.

China’s President Xi Jinping arrived in Dushanbe here Friday on a state visit and for participation in the fifth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

Tajikistan was the second leg of President Xi's two-country Central Asia trip, which also took him to Kyrgyzstan for a state visit and the 19th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

China is currently Tajikistan's biggest investor and its third-largest trading partner.