Tajik President Emomali Rahmon yesterday evening arrived in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent for participation in the second consultative meeting of heads of the Central Asian nations.

On the same day, Emomali Rahmon met with his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev, according to the Tajik president’s official website. 

The two sides reportedly discussed state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between their countries.

They, in particular, discussed cooperation between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in the fields of energy, transportation, education, culture, and investment.

Tajik and Uzbek leaders expressed satisfaction with the current level of cooperation between their countries.  

Emomali Rahmon invited Shavkat Mirziyoyev to pay an official visit to Tajikistan.

The second consultative meeting of heads of the Central Asian nations is taking place in the Uzbek capital today.    

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow and the first President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev are participating in the second consultative meeting in Tashkent   

They are expected to discuss issues related to trade and economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian cooperation as well as development of the regional transport infrastructure.

The holding of the second regional summit was initiated by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during the first regional summit that took place in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on March 15 last year.

Presidents of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as well as Turkmen Parliament Speaker participated in the first summit.  

Central Asian experts consider that geographic factors could turn Uzbekistan into a vehicle for regional cooperation because it borders all four other Central Asian states -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan -- as well as Afghanistan.