Opinions & Interviews

Tajikistan viewed as Belarus’ close friend

MINSK, 8 December (BelTA) - Belarus and Tajikistan are not just partners, they are good friends, Chairperson of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Natalya Kochanova said as she met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Tajikistan to Bakhtovar Safarzoda on 8 December, BelTA has learned.

“Tajikistan has always been a good friend for us. We have shared history. This is largely thanks to the efforts of the leaders of our countries,” Natalya Kochanova said.

The speaker recalled the visit of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko to Tajikistan in October 2022. In November 2023, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon paid a visit to Belarus to attend the CSTO Collective Security Council summit.

Cooperation at the level of prime ministers and ministers has intensified, Natalya Kochanova said, noting the need to work on the existing economic prospects.

Speaking about inter-parliamentary cooperation, the chairperson of the Council of the Republic stressed that the ambassador of Tajikistan to Belarus was an MP. “You represented your country in the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly. I am sure that with your arrival to our country we will further intensify contacts between MPs, although our countries already have good, friendly relations,” she said.

According to the speaker, the work on the inter-parliamentary line is of great importance. The speaker of the Council of the Republic said that her colleague Rustam Emomali had been invited to pay an official visit to Belarus. “We will be glad to have this visit any time convenient for you. We will do our best to ensure that our relations develop effectively,” she said.

Natalya Kochanova is sure that the colleagues of the two countries have good, friendly relations. These, according to her, are not just partnership, but friendly relations, which help address all the issues. “This is especially important for working in international organizations - through the SCO, CIS. Supporting each other in difficult conditions is the key thing in our work. We see how fragile the world is today and what events are taking place in general,” she said.

The speaker dwelt on economic cooperation as well. According to her, many interesting projects have already been implemented between the two countries. “We are grateful to you for such approaches in work. This has helped us develop a good economic roadmap for the coming years,” she said.

Cooperation in the light industry is of particular significance, Natalya Kochanova said. “Belarus is well-known for its products, including knitwear. We try to produce the fabrics that will be in demand both in our country and in other markets,” she said. The Commonwealth of Fashion international forum was also mentioned as a positive example of cooperation.

The chairperson of the Council of the Republic recalled a forum which recently took place in Belarus with the participation of women entrepreneurs from Uzbekistan. “We will be glad to organize such a forum with women from Tajikistan,” she added.

The speaker also mentioned the Train of Memory project, which has already been going on for two years. Initially, its participants were children from Belarus and Russia. They visited cities where key battles during the Great Patriotic War took place. Last year children from Kyrgyzstan and Armenia joined the project. This year Belarus expects children from Tajikistan to take part in the project.

The countries need to maintain active cooperation between the youth, the speaker said. According to Natalya Kochanova, young people of Tajikistan find Belarusian universities interesting in terms of receiving education. The speaker called the Children of the Commonwealth project a good example of cooperation. In her words, Belarus is working on the opportunity to host the forum in 2025. “With the friendship between the youth, our countries with have a good future,” the speaker said.

2024 is a particularly important year for Belarus, the chairperson of the Council of the Republic added. Belarus has already entered the electoral period. Next year the country is celebrating 80 years of liberation of Belarus from Nazis. An organizing committee has already been set up. “We will invite our closest friends, allies. I mean the closest not by distance, but by soul,” she said.

In general, there are great prospects between the two countries. “The most important thing is that we have a desire for our people to be friends, to respect each other. We will do everything for this,” the chairperson of the Council of the Republic said.

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