An official source within the Tajik president’s press service told Asia-Plus today morning that Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has arrived in Dushanbe on a two-day state visit.  

According to him, Mirziyoyev is scheduled to hold talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to discuss a broad range of issues related to state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral political, economic and cultural cooperation between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The parties are also expected to exchange view on a number of regional and international issues being of mutual interest.  

Their meeting will be followed by negotiations between the delegations of the two countries that will result in signing of a number of cooperation issues, the source added.  

Relations between the countries have become warmer after Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power in Uzbekistan in 2016.  Mirziyoyev has said that improving ties with Central Asian nations is a major priority of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy.

Emomali Rahmon and Shavkat Mirziyoyev have met several times since September 2016 and in March 2018, Mirziyoyev made an historic visit to Dushanbe, where 27 bilateral agreements were signed in the fields of trade, economy, investment, finance, transport and transit, agriculture, water and energy, taxes, customs, tourism, education and science, health, culture, interregional cooperation, in the field of security and countering crime.  One of the agreements signed in Dushanbe on March 9, 2020 was a deal enabling nationals of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to visit each other’s countries for up to 30 days without obtaining visa.