DUSHANBE, October 12, 2011, Asia-Plus -- The Minister of State for International Development of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Alan Duncan will visit Tajikistan from October 17 to October 19, 2011, DFID Tajikistan reports.

During three days of official visit, Mr. Duncan, who is the member of the UK Parliament  will meet with the high level officials of Tajikistan and will have a field visit to the south of the country.

The main objectives of the visit are to underline the UK Government’s intent to remain engaged with, and supportive of, Tajikistan and to encourage deepening of economic reform in Tajikistan.

Alan Duncan MP was appointed as Minister of State for International Development on 13th May 2010.

Alan Duncan’s great passion for international affairs is inspired by a lifetime of global voyage and discovery.  Born in 1957, raised in Hertfordshire and across the world tracking his father’s RAF postings, he went onto study at Oxford and Harvard. His early career as a crude oil trader spanned the Middle East, South East Asia and Singapore, where he lived for two years.

Alan Duncan has kept a constant watch on the wider world throughout his parliamentary career, reflected in his appointment as shadow Secretary for International Development from 2004 to 2005. He is personally committed to DFID’s central goal of combating global poverty and has long been an advocate of well-managed, effectively-spent aid.

Alan Duncan joined Parliament in 1992 as the Conservative Member for Rutland and Melton. Five years later he was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party and Parliamentary Political Secretary to the Rt. Hon. William Hague MP.

He has held a number of positions in the Shadow Cabinet, most recently as Shadow Secretary for Trade Industry and Energy (2005). In 2009, Alan Duncan was appointed Shadow Leader of the House and shortly after, he became Shadow Minister for Prisons and Probation.