DUSHANBE, December 3, 2015, Asia-Plus – On Wednesday December 2, Tajik Deputy Foreign Minister Nizomiddin Zohidi met here with the US Department of State’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (PDAS) for South and Central Asian Affairs William E. Todd.

According to the Tajik MFA information department, the two discussed state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the United States.

Zohidi and Todd reportedly discussed cooperation between the two counties in the fields of energy and transportation.

They also discussed issues related to combating terrorism and providing regional security as well as the United States’ initiative on setting up a working group for implementation of a joint declaration that was adopted at a meeting of Central Asian foreign ministers with Washington’s top diplomat that took place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on November 1, 2015.

Ambassador William (Bill) E. Todd was appointed as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs in August 2015.

Immediately prior to this assignment, he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia beginning in 2012.  Before his appointment to Cambodia, he served as the Coordinating Director of Development and Economic Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.