DUSHANBE, November 10, 2015, Asia-Plus -- U.S. Embassy Dushanbe conducted a handover ceremony to present the Tajikistan Ministry of Defense''s Peacekeeping Battalion with five new Jeep J8 vehicles at Shamsi Base in Dushanbe.

According to the US Embassy, the vehicles include three patrol vehicle variants, one troop carrier variant, and one ambulance.

The 1.1 million U.S. dollar assistance package is reportedly intended to increase the readiness of the Peacekeeping Battalion to deploy in support of United Nations peacekeeping operations.  It includes spare parts, tools, training, and communications equipment.

During the vehicle handover ceremony, Chargé d’Affaires Leslie M. Hayden thanked the Ministry of Defense for cooperation in increasing the professionalism and capability of the battalion.  She expressed hopes that Tajikistan would be able to deploy troops from the peacekeeping unit to a United Nations mission soon.

The funding for the Jeep vehicles was provided by the United States Department of State''s Global Peace Operations Initiative, which has provided Tajikistan over 6.6 million U.S. dollars in assistance since 2009 to support training, equipment procurement, and establish the Peace Operation Training Center at Shamsi Base.