DUSHANBE, March 16, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will participate in the Fifth Regional Economic Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA V) that will take place in the Tajik capital from March 26-27.

According to the Iranian Embassy in Dushanbe, Ahmadinjead will also hold talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and some other high-ranking Tajik state officials to discuss state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Iranian president will also attend celebrations to mark the Navrouz holiday that will take place at Dushanbe’s Navrouzgoh Complex.

During his stay in Dushanbe, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will also inaugurate an “Iranian House” here, the source said.

We will recall that groundbreaking ceremonies for an “Iranian House” and a fitness club took place in Dushanbe in July 2010 and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad''s chief of staff Isfandiar Rahim Mashaei participated in those ceremonies. 

Economic ties between Iran and Tajikistan are reportedly expanding.  Iran has invested in several strategic projects in Tajikistan, including the Sangtuda-2 hydroelectric power plant (HPP) and the Anzob tunnel that would help link the central and northern parts of the country.

According to the Agency for Statistics under the President of Tajikistan, a two-way trade between Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran last year amounted to more than 204.1 million U.S. dollars.  Over the first two months of this year, trade between Tajikistan and Iran has amounted to some 29 million U.S. dollars.