DUSHANBE, June 15, 2014, Asia-Plus – On Friday June 13, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojididn Aslov received visiting Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, Ms. Fatema Z. Sumar.

According to the Tajik MFA information department, the sides discussed a number of issues being of mutual interest.

Since March 2014, Ms. Fatema Sumar has reportedly visited Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan.

Thus, she visited Ashgabat, Turkmenistan form June 9-10 for a series of meetings with officials from the Government of Turkmenistan.  Discussions focused on a wide range of topics, including bilateral commerce, cultural affairs, political cooperation, and human rights, as well as regional issues such as the New Silk Road initiative, energy, transportation, trade, infrastructure, and Turkmenistan’s role in supporting Afghanistan’s regional integration.

In Kazakhstan, Ms. Sumar reportedly participated in the Almaty consensus conference that took place from June 11 to June 13.

Ms. Fatema Z. Sumar is a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State where she covers regional affairs with a focus on regional economic integration.  She joined the Department in August 2013 from the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where she served as a Senior Professional Staff Member for then-Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA) and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ).  Before working on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, she was a Presidential Management Fellow.  During her fellowship, Ms. Sumar served as the Regional Central Asia and Tajikistan Desk Officer at the U.S. Department of State, the Economics/Commercial Officer at U.S. Embassy Kabul in Afghanistan, and as a Congressional Fellow for Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA).  Prior to joining government, she worked at the American Civil Liberties Union on drug policy and racial justice issues.