DUSHANBE, October 16, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- General William M. Fraser III, Commander of U.S. Transport Command (USTRANSCOM), is expected to pay a working visit to Tajikistan from October 21 to October 22.

A well-informed source in the Tajik government says that while in Dushanbe, General Fraser will hold talks with senior representatives of Tajikistan’s power-wielding structures.

It will be the third visit of General Fraser to Tajikistan.

USTRANCOM commander made his first visit to Tajikistan in February this year.  In February, General Fraser, who recently took command of USTRANSCOM, met with Colonel-General Sherali Khairulloyev, Minister of Defense for Tajikistan and Lieutenant-General Sherali Mirzo, Head of the Border Guard Administration.  General Fraser formally introduced himself and personally thanked them for Tajikistan’s continued support and cooperation.

Fraser’s second visit to Tajikistan took place in May.  In May, General Fraser visited the Nizhniy Panj Border Crossing Point on the Tajikistan border with Afghanistan.  At Nizhniy Panj, General Fraser met with Lieutenant-General Sherali Mirzo and toured the U.S. government-financed Nizhniy Panj Border Crossing Point.

The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is one of nine unified commands of the United States Department of Defense.  The mission of USTRANSCOM is to provide air, land and sea transportation for the Department of Defense, both in time of peace and time of war.