Amir's visit bolsters bilateral co-operation, gives relations real impetus

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon said that His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani's state visit to Tajikistan will effectively contribute to buttressing co-operation relations between the two countries, including in the economic, trade, cultural and human sectors, and give them a new real impetus.In an interview with the Qatar News Agency (QNA) in Dushanbe, the president said that Tajikistan's foreign policy attaches paramount importance to elevating relations with Arab countries, including Qatar.Rahmon added that common civilisational values, mutual understanding, trust and respect for common interests are a bedrock for bilateral relations.During the visit, His Highness the Amir will attend the official inauguration ceremony of a modern mosque in Dushanbe, the construction of which is funded by Qatar.The president said that talks at the summit level in 2007 in Dushanbe, in 2017 in Doha during his official visit to Qatar, and in 2019 in Dushanbe during the visit of His Highness the Amir, signify a high level of political bilateral relations.Rahmon said that a package of new bilateral agreements, which will be signed during His Highness the Amir's visit, will undoubtedly strengthen the legal basis for co-operation between the two countries.He stated that both countries have vast untapped opportunities in areas of energy, banking, industry, agriculture and tourism, and that the effective realisation of these opportunities meets the interests of the peoples of the two countries.These areas are a priority for co-operation with the State of Qatar, Rahmon said, adding that the active presence of Qatari investors and business circles is most welcomed.The president expressed his confidence that the friendly relations and fruitful co-operation with Qatar have a bright future and is optimistic about the promising prospects for these relations.He noted that Qatar is one of the first Arab countries to make direct investments in Tajikistan, with Qatar's Diar Real Estate Investment Company developing the Diyar Dushanbe investment project in the capital.Rahmon added that the first phase has been rounded off, and the company intends to complete the next phases of this project as soon as possible.He stressed that Tajikistan has created favourable conditions for investment, entrepreneurship and the development of the private sector, with project owners and investors benefiting from more than 240 types of investment facilitations and exemptions allocated by the country's laws and legislation.Tajikistan legislation guarantees equal rights for local and foreign investors, the president emphasised, which is considered a contributing factor to increasing the volume of trade and investment between the two countries.Given the many opportunities for the two countries, he said that Tajikistan considers the development of co-operation in the various fields, including that of tourism, beneficial to both sides.Rahmon raised the issue of setting up a permanent business council of the two countries and the importance of regularly holding economic forums, exhibitions of agricultural and industrial products and other joint events to expand bilateral co-operation relations.He called on investors in of Qatar to take full advantage of opportunities in Tajikistan.In the tourism sector, the president said that Tajikistan has created favourable conditions for tourists, with citizens of Qatar being able to enter Tajikistan without a visa.On the subject of political co-operation, Rahmon said that Tajikistan and Qatar have fruitful co-operation within the framework of international and regional organisations, and that both countries support each other's initiatives in the international arena.He expressed his thanks to Qatar for its continuous support for Tajikistan's global initiatives in the fields of water, climate and regional security, in particular Qatar's support for Tajikistan's fifth global initiatives to declare 2025 as International Year of Glaciers' Preservation.The president also commended Qatar's diplomatic efforts to ensure regional and global peace and security.He described Qatar as one of Tajikistan's most important international partners, citing bilateral relations in the field of energy as an example.Tajikistan has an annual hydroelectric potential of 527bn kwh of electricity, of only 5% is being taken advantage of.Rahmon said that Tajikistan is eighth in the world in terms of possessing renewable energy resources, and sixth in terms of producing and consuming environmentally clean energy, with hydroelectric energy resources one of the main sources of wealth in the country.The president also expressed his country's aspirations for active participation by Qatar in the implementation of energy projects, highlighting the country's favourable investment climate.He added that Tajikistan owns about 60% of the water resources in Central Asia, which offers promising opportunities for the implementation of important energy projects for the region.Rahmon highlighted the 3.8GW run-of-the-river Rogun Hydropower Project, the largest dam in the region that will mainly contribute to Tajikistan's economic and social development and green energy.The president said that two of the dam's six turbines is already in operation, each with a capacity of 600MW per hour.He said that with the development of large, medium and small energy projects in Tajikistan having the potential of exporting green electric energy to neighbouring countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan, Dushanbe is ready to co-operate with Qatar in this respect.