DUSHANBE, September 14, Asia-Plus -- Tajikistan and the Netherlands have agreed to expand bilateral economic and trade cooperation, according to Tajikistan’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI). 

A source in the Tajik CCI says this issue was discussed yesterday by CCI head Sharif Saidov and a Dutch delegation led by Mr. Van der Molen (phonetically spelled), honorary consul of the Netherlands to Tajikistan in Dushanbe.

The sides also agreed to hold a business forum and an exhibition of Dutch high technology and goods in Dushanbe in late 2006 or early 2007. 

They also discuss the expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and the Netherlands in the other spheres, such as energy, transportation, communications, mining, tourism, construction, the agrarian sector and others. 

They will also explore laying a legal foundation of cooperation between the chambers of commerce and industry of Tajikistan and the Netherlands and opening their representative offices in each other’s countries. 

According to figures provided by Tajikistan’s State Committee for Statistics,  trade between

Tajikistan and the Netherlands over the first seven months of 2006 was valued at US$352,682,300, which is 31 percent more than the same period last year. The Netherlands is the main trading partner for Tajik aluminum and cotton fiber. Tajikistan’s exports of aluminum and cotton fiber to the Netherlands were estimated at US$351,579,600 over the same seven-month period, 44.8 percent of all Tajikistan’s exports in January-July 2006.