DUSHANBE, January 21, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- On Wednesday January 20, Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi met with U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan, Kenneth Gross, according to the Tajik MFA information department.

The sides discussed a broad range of issues related to cooperation between Tajikistan and the United States both in bilateral and multilateral formats.

Zarifi and Gross in particular, discussed holding of bilateral political consultations between Tajikistan and the United States that are expected tot take place in Washington on February 8-9 this year.

In the course of the talks, Zariif noted that the countries had many opportunities for further development of bilateral mutually beneficial relations.

For his part, Gross noted that the upcoming political consultations would create conditions for discussing issues related to cooperation between the two countries.

It was noted that politico-economic cooperation in the Central Asian region, implementation of energy and transportation projects as well as the situation in Afghanistan were among priorities of cooperation between Tajikistan and the United States, the MFA information department said.

Tajik minister stressed that implementation of projects for building roads and rail links connecting Tajikistan and Afghanistan as well as constructing power transmission line from Tajikistan via Afghanistan to Pakistan that were of region-wide significance was aimed, first of all, at supporting reconstruction of Afghanistan’s economy.

The sides also discussed a number of regional and international issues being of mutual interest.