DUSHANBE, June 23, 2011, Asia-Plus -- Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi yesterday received visiting NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai, the Tajik MFA information department reports.

In the course of the talks, the sides considered issues related to relations between Tajikistan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and interaction between them within the framework of the NATO Partnership for Peace Program.

Zarifi and Appathurai also discussed developments in Central Asia, border security and the process of establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan, the source said.

Tajikistan’s relations with NATO should be viewed through the Partnership for Peace framework which the country joined in 2002.  NATO and Tajikistan actively cooperate in the fight and against terrorism and have developed practical cooperation in many other areas.  The Individual Partnership Program (IPP) lays out the program of cooperation between NATO and Tajikistan.

According to NATO’s website, dialogue takes place within the framework of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC). The NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Ambassador Robert F. Simmons, conducts high-level political dialogue with Tajik authorities through regular visits to the country. The NATO Liaison Officer in Central Asia also visits Dushanbe regularly and reviews cooperation with the government.

NATO and Tajikistan are developing practical cooperation in a number of areas through the country’s Individual Partnership Programme (IPP), which is jointly agreed for a two-year period. Key areas include security and peacekeeping cooperation, especially counter-terrorism cooperation and border security, crisis management and civil emergency planning.

Key areas of cooperation between NATO and Tajikistan are: security cooperation; defense and security sector reform; civil emergency planning; science and environment; and public information.

NATO-Tajikistan relations date back to 1992, when the country joined the North Atlantic Cooperation Council (later renamed the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997). Tajikistan joined the Partnership for Peace in 2002 to work alongside the Allies in areas where bilateral aims converge.  Since joining PfP, Tajikistan has played an active role in hosting and participating in PfP exercises, with a special focus on command and control, civil-emergency planning and civil-military cooperation. There remains further scope for deepening cooperation.