Officials from Tajikistan and Iran have emphasized the expansion of bilateral cooperation in the field of geomatics.

Kayhan International reported on June 17 that the Director-General of the National Cartographic Center of Iran (NCC) Ali Javidaneh and the Chairman of the State Committee for Land Management and Geodesy of Tajikistan Orif Khojazoda have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Tehran aimed at developing cooperation between the two countries in the field of the geomatics.

Javidaneh was cited as saying that the MoU is a turning point in enhancing joint cooperation between the two countries.    

The Tajik official reportedly also termed the expansion of bilateral cooperation by implementing the agreement as an important step in solidifying and strengthening the bilateral relations.

Khojazoda added that the two countries enjoy high potential and capabilities to expand their cooperation in the relevant field, according to Kayhan International.

Tehran Times says Tajikistan’s Ambassador to Iran Nizomiddin Zohidi, who attended the signing ceremony, expressed hope that Tajikistan and Iran would witness accelerated bilateral cooperation in the field of geomatics and export of technical and engineering services.

Geomatics is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as the “discipline concerned with the collection, distribution, storage, analysis, processing, and presentation of geographic data or geographic information.”  Under another definition, it consists of products, services and tools involved in the collection, integration and management of geographic (geospatial) data.  Surveying engineering was the widely used name for geomatics engineering in the past.  Geomatics was placed by the UNESCO Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems under the branch of technical geography.