DUSHANBE, April 16, 2015, Asia-Plus – Tajik Ambassador to Egypt Khusrav Noziri yesterday met in Cairo with Dr. Nabi Elaraby, Secretary-General of the Arab League.

According to the Tajik Embassy in Cairo, Ambassador Noziri handed over to Dr. Nabi Elaraby a letter from Tajik Foreign Minister Sirodjidin Aslov regarding the accreditation of the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Tajikistan to the League of Arab States.

The two also exchanged views on issues related to further development of cooperation between Tajikistan and the League of Arab States in various areas.

It should be noted that on the sidelines of the First Session of the Forum on Economy and Arab Cooperation with the Central Asian States and the Republic of Azerbaijan, which took place in Riyadh on May 13, 2014, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation between Tajikistan and the League of Arab States was signed.  It is scheduled that Tajikistan will host the next session of the Forum in 2016.

The Arab League, formally the League of Arab States, is a regional organization of Arab countries in and around North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and Southwest Asia.  It was formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945 with six members: Kingdom of Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, Transjordan (renamed Jordan in 1949), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria.  Yemen joined as a member on May 5, 1945.  Currently, the League has 22 members, although Syria''s participation has been suspended since November 2011, as a consequence of government repression during the ongoing uprising and civil war.

The League''s main goal is to “draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries.”

Through institutions such as the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League''s Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), the Arab League facilitates political, economic, cultural, scientific and social programs designed to promote the interests of the Arab world.