DUSHANBE, March 30, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Dushanbe authorities are currently making preparations for a Capital City Day, which is marked in Tajikistan on the third Saturday of April.

This year, Tajikistan will mark the Capital City Day on April 17 and an international race dedicated to this event will be held this year.  According to the Dushanbe mayor’s office,  representatives of 14 cities across the world, which are Dushanbe’s sister cities, and some other cities have been invited to participate in the race.

To-date, mayor’s offices of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Urumqi (China), Ankara, Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) have confirmed participation of their representatives in the race.

The Dushanbe’s sister cities are Lusaka, Zambia (1966);  Sana''a, Yemen (June 25, 1967); Monastir, Tunisia (November 24, 1967); Klagenfurt,  Austria (1972); Lahore, Pakistan (September 15, 1976);  Boulder, USA (May 8, 1987); Mazar-i Sahrif, Afghanistan (July 13, 1991); Reutlingen, Germany (October 5, 1991); St. Petersburg, Russia (October 6, 1991); Shiraz, Iran (February 16, 1992); Minsk, Belarus (July 21, 1998); Urumqi, China (September 10, 1999); Tehran, Iran (March 12, 2001); and Ankara, Turkey (December 11, 2003)