DUSHANBE , June 16, Asia-Plus - On the sidelines of his visit to China [on June 14-15] to attend a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Tajik President Emomali Rahmonov held a number of bilateral meetings.

President Rahmonov conferred with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, Thursday afternoon following the summit, presidential press service reported.

Their talks focused on state and prospects of further expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and Afghanistan .  The two considered issues related to economic cooperation between the two countries and reconstruction of Afghanistan ’s economy.  Rahmonov and Karzai also discussed joint efforts in fighting drug trafficking. 

On the same day, Rahmonov met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on issues of mutual interests.

            During the meeting Rahmonov described the cultural commonalities between Tajikistan and Iran as an eternal identify, which further bolsters ties between the two nations.  Referring to the upcoming visit of the Iranian president to Tajikistan , Rahmonov said Tajikistan eagerly welcomed Iran ’s cooperation in the country’s developing.  According to IRNA, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will pay the visit to Tajikistan to inaugurate the Anzob tunnel.  Rahmonov also expressed hope that a summit between Tajikistan , Iran and Afghanistan sharing common language would be held in Dushanbe in near future.        

For his part, the Iranian president noted that cultural, linguistic, religious and historical commonalties between the two countries have created grounds for further expansion of cooperation between the two nations.  He voiced the readiness of Iran to undertake joint projects for construction of roads, tunnels, dams and power stations in Tajikistan .  Since Iran , Tajikistan and Afghanistan enjoy common language, it is vital to further broaden cultural ties in a bid to promote Persian language, Ahmadinejad pointed out.