Tajik President Emomali Rahmon today received visiting U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander, General Joseph L. Votel, according to the Tajik president’s official website.  

Rahmon and Votel discussed state and prospects of further expansion of bilateral military and technical cooperation between Tajikistan and the United States.

Both countries reportedly share common stance on issues related to providing regional security and stability.  

The two sides expressed satisfaction with cooperation between military structures of Tajikistan and the United States in the frameworks of the following programs: International Financial Aid; Global Peace Initiative; Military Training; and Fight against International Terrorism and Drug Trafficking.  

Both sides underlined positive activities of the Dushanbe-based National Training Center for Combating Terrorism and Drug Trafficking.

Tajik president and US CENTCOM commander confirmed their interest in further expansion of cooperation in these directions, the website said.  

Taking into consideration increasing threat of international terrorism and extremism as well as activation of organized crime groups, the sides pointed to the necessity of expansion of cooperation in strengthening control of Tajikistan’s common border with Afghanistan.  

Rahmon and Votel also discussed a number of other issues being of mutual interest, the website noted.  

Joseph L. Votel (born February 14, 1958) is a four-star general in the United States Army.  He has been commander of United States Central Command since March 2016.  Before that, General Joseph L. Votel served as commander of the United States Special Operations Command.

The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is a theater-level Unified Combatant Command of the U.S. Department of Defense.  It was established in 1983, taking over the 1980 Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF) responsibilities.

The CENTCOM area of responsibility (AoR) includes countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia, most notably Afghanistan and Iraq.