Envoy lauds Iran-Tajikistan ties

Tajikistan’s Ambassador to Tehran has spoken strongly in favor of his country’s relations with Iran, marking the Central Asian state’s independence from the Soviet Union, AVA Diplomatic reports.“We have special gratitude toward Iran.The country has been on our side as a friend and brother in the past twenty years,” Davlatali Hotamov said on Thursday on the sidelines of a ceremony, marking the 20th anniversary of the independence at the Tajik embassy in Tehran.

Iran was one of the first countries to immediately recognize Tajikistan as an independent state in 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

“The first foreign embassy that was opened in Tajikistan was the Iranian embassy,” he noted, adding that Tehran saw Tajik people and government through the years of civil war in his country.

The destructive conflicts, which followed Tajikistan’s independence, lasted from 1992 to 1997 and left over 50,000 people dead.

“During these years, bonds of friendship and fraternity between the two countries have strengthened,” Hotamov said, pointing that now over 100 Iranian firms were operating in Tajikistan in the areas of development, road construction, and production.

 The Tajik envoy to Tehran finally expressed hope for the expansion and continuation of bilateral relations.