DUSHANBE, February 21, 1011, Asia-Plus -- The British Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Tajikistan, Mr. Trevor Moore, visited Shahritous district in Khatlon province on February 10-11, according to the British Embassy in Dushanbe.

On February 10, the Ambassador met with the Mr. Jumakhon Safarov, chairman of Shahritous district.  Current activities and challenges in Shahritous were discussed during the meeting.  Safarov described current issues, including developing local agriculture and maintaining the water supply for the population.

The chairman welcomed the British Ambassador’s visit and expressed his willingness to expand collaboration in the future.  The Ambassador agreed there were good possibilities for future cooperation.  He noted that “the British government is interested in the developing trade between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.”

On that day, Mr. Trevor Moore also met with representatives of civil society of Shahritous district. During the meeting representatives of NGOs described the wide range of their activities in the region.

The British Ambassador on February 11 also visited the UNDP field office in Shahritous district.  He also visited a UNDP Irrigation and Forestry project in the district, as well as a village hospital, which is located on one of the southernmost points of the country, in the village of Ayvaj.  The British Ambassador visited a well-known historical place in Shahritous, the Khoja-Mashhad mausoleum.

Before returning to Dushanbe, the Ambassador stopped in Kurgan-Tube and met with local journalists.  He also visited Wakefield Inspection Services, a British cotton standard Company.