DUSHANBE, March 30, 2013, Asia-Plus – On Friday March 29, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon received Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.

Referring to Tajik and Iranian cultural and linguistic commonalities, Emomali Rahmon and Ali Akbar Salehi reportedly called for further expansion of bilateral cooperation between the two nations.

Tajik president, in particular, said that the volume of a two-way trade between Tajikistan and Iran has been growing and last year, it valued at more than 217 million U.S. dollars, the Tajik president’s official website reported.

Rahmon, however, noted that the current volume of trade between the two countries could not be an indicator of trade and economic capacities of Tajikistan and Iran.

In this connection, the sides reportedly pointed to the necessity of improving mutual conditions of development of bilateral trade-economic and investment cooperation.

The upcoming official visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and ways of practical implementation of important agreements on full completion of construction of the Santuda-2 hydroelectric power plant (HPP) and the beginning of construction of the Ayni HPP in northern Tajikistan as well as construction of power transmission lines, water, gas and oil pipelines as well as a railway link connecting Tajikistan and Iran through Afghanistan were also among major topics of the meeting.

On the sidelines of the 11th Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) ministerial meeting, President Emomali Rahmon also held talks with heads of other delegations participating in the meeting.