“Tajikistan, Korea enjoy friendly ties laying a solid foundation increased cooperation”

“Tajikistan, Korea enjoy friendly ties laying a solid foundation increased cooperation”

By Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik with Editor Kim Hung-dae, VCs Joy Cho, Choe Nam-suk, Makeup Editor Richard Park

Ambassador Kiro Salohiddein Ariddinzoda of the Republic of Tajikistan in Seoul said, “The Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Korea enjoy friendly ties since establishment of diplomatic relations 31 years ago (April 27, 1992) and during this period, we have laid a solid foundation for cooperation based on amity and mutual trust.”

At a recent interview with The Korea Post media, publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean-language news publications since 1985, Ambassador Ariddinzoda said, “The Republic of Korea with development experience and next-generation technologies is considered as one of Tajikistan`s reliable partners. We attach great importance to expanding bilateral multifaceted cooperation with this friendly country.”

Ambassador Ariddinzoda then added:

“Our peoples have had deep-rooted friendly ties since the time of the Shilla Kingdom, and the finds at the tomb of King Wonsong in Gyeongju provide concrete proof of the enduring friendly ties between our nations.

“Over the past three years, the parties have held three business forums, the last of which took place on June 19-20, 2023 in Dushanbe.

“It is gratifying to note that there is a growing trend in trade turnover between Tajikistan and Korea; in January-September 2023 it amounted to 96.5 million US dollars. (For reference: in 2022, trade turnover amounted to $50 million USD)

“Tajikistan is open to considering economic and investment projects in its free economic zones, creating joint industrial enterprises in mutually interested areas using Korean know-how technologies.

“Currently, over 24 Korean enterprises operate in Tajikistan. We are interested in more active participation of the Korean private sector in the economy of Tajikistan.”

Ambassador introduced details of relations between the very friendly countries. Details follow:

Cooperation on international issues:

Tajikistan and Korea actively interact within the UN, as well as international and regional organizations and share a common and/or similar position on the most important issues on the global agenda.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to once again congratulate you on the election of the Republic of Korea as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2023-2024.

We are confident that our friendly country, the Republic of Korea, will provide invaluable support in electing Tajikistan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2028-2029.

Tajikistan Global initiatives on water related issues

It is worth noting that the concept of water diplomacy was created and is being used by the international community in the course of advancing the global water agenda. It is a new negotiating tool to find common ground on issues related to water management.

Tajikistan has initiated five global practical initiatives that are directly related to the fate of humankind, and practically no country remains neutral in their decision.

In response to a proposal by the President of the Republic of Tajikistan at the 54th session (October 1, 1999), the 55th session of the UN General Assembly, held on September 20, 2000, declared 2003 the "International Year of Fresh Water." As a result of this initiative, an international summit on fresh water was held in Dushanbe from August 29 to September 1, 2003.

On December 23, 2003, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution based on the Dushanbe Declaration and proclaimed 2005-2015 as the International Decade of Action "Water for Life." In addition, in 2013, the international community celebrated the "International Year of Water Cooperation" following a proposal by Tajikistan in General Assembly resolution 67/204.

On December 21, 2016, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution declaring 2018-2028 as the International Decade of Action "Water for Sustainable Development" in response to a proposal by the President of the Republic of Tajikistan. This initiative was first presented to the international community by the President of the Republic of Tajikistan on April 12, 2015, during the World Water Summit in Daegu, Republic of Korea.

To implement this important initiative, the International High-Level Conference on the International Decade for Action "Water for Sustainable Development" 2018-2028 was held in Dushanbe in June 2018 with the participation of high-ranking representatives of UN member states and other international and regional organizations.

Another historic event took place on December 14, 2022, when the 77th session of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring 2025 as the International Year of Glacier Preservation and March 21 as World Glacier Day at the initiative of the President of Tajikistan. This initiative was adopted with the support of 153 UN member states. The International Glaciers Preservation Trust Fund was established and coordinated by the UN, and a high-level international conference on glacier preservation is planned to be held in Dushanbe in 2025.

The constructive and timely initiative of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan will play a significant role in sustainable development and integrated water resources management, the implementation of special sectoral projects and programs, and strengthening cooperation for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals on water-related issues.

Potentials and opportunities of Tajikistan:

Thanks to the significant achievements of the independence period, Tajikistan is developing rapidly.

The main development goals and priorities are defined in the National Development Strategy of the country for the period up to 2030.

According to this Strategy, the Government is currently implementing large-scale economic reforms aimed at ensuring sustainable development.

In this process, Tajikistan has successfully cooperated with international financial institutions and other development partners for decades.

With their support, hundreds of investment projects and programs were implemented in Tajikistan in all fields.

In addition, we currently have dozens of other projects underway, totaling $4.5 billion.

Today, international financial organizations consider Tajikistan as a state with a rapidly developing economy.

The average annual growth rate of the country's economy over the last ten years has been more than seven percent.

The private sector is developing in Tajikistan, its share in the production of goods and services is about 90 percent.

Tajikistan has attracted significant foreign investment in recent years, and international trade is growing rapidly..

The legislation of the country has provided many privileges and extensive legal guarantees for the protection of business and investment.

Our country's membership in the World Trade Organization and a number of international conventions on the protection of investors' rights also prove the compliance of the country's legislation with global best practices.

Tajikistan has abundant natural resources, especially water and mineral resources.

93 percent of the territory of Tajikistan is made up of mountains with 13 thousand glaciers, which are the main source of drinking water.

More than 60 percent of Central Asia's water sources are formed in Tajikistan.

Tajikistan occupies the eighth place in the world in terms of total hydropower resources and the second place in terms of their specific resources per capita.

Today, only 5 percent of this capacity is used.

Ninety-eight percent of Tajikistan's electricity is produced from renewable "green energy" sources.

According to this indicator, Tajikistan ranks sixth in the world.

Tajikistan plans to double our green energy production capacity in the near future as the the key driver of the green economy.

The development of the "green economy" is one of the main goals of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.

In Tajikistan, there is an opportunity to use "green energy" with the least impact on the environment to place attract energy-intensive industries.

Effective use of this potential requires large investments and the introduction of new technologies.

Tajikistan's hydropower capacity, combined with new technologies, allows for the production of aluminum and other metals, as well as finished products from them, with the with minimal carbon emissions.

"Tajik Aluminum Company" (TALCO), which uses environmentally friendly electricity in its production, has already entered the top five global producers of "green aluminum".

The production of "green aluminum", copper and lithium in Tajikistan can be an advantage for investment in the production of electric vehicles.

It should also be emphasized that in the near future in many, products made with green energy will be exempt from carbon taxes.

Considering this and the available labor resources in the future, the production of industrial products in Tajikistan, aimed at export to the Korean market, will be beneficial.

The industrial sector, first of all, mining, metallurgical, light and food industry, as well as cooperation, is considered a mutually beneficial direction of our cooperation.

The mining industry also has good prospects in Tajikistan due to the high demand for essential mineral resources.

About 40 types of metals and materials have been mined in Tajikistan, and 800 deposits of polymetallic minerals, rare and precious metals have been identified and discovered, some of which are ready for industrial exploitation.

The production of copper, silver, gold, lead, antimony, zinc, lithium, tungsten, mercury, rare metals, precious and semi-precious stones, rock salt and a number of other minerals has good prospects.

In the field of light and food industry of Tajikistan, the main attention is focused on the development of clusters for the deep processing of local raw materials, such as agricultural products and cotton fiber, into high-value finished products.

Cooperation in the chemical industry, pharmaceuticals and production of construction materials based on local raw materials can also be beneficial to both sides.

In the context of ensuring food security, we are interested in expanding cooperation with Korea in the field of agriculture, which has been developing rapidly in Tajikistan in recent years.

In this direction, we can effectively use Tajikistan's opportunity to produce and export environmentally friendly products to markets worldwide, including Korea.

The Government of Tajikistan is taking necessary measures to develop the tourism industry and use its great potential, especially mountain climbing, environmental and health tourism.

For this purpose, Tajikistan offers a unilateral visa-free regime for citizens of a number of countries, including the Republic of Korea who can stay in the country for up to 30 days without a visa.

We are also interested in mutually beneficial cooperation with the Korean side in the development of the financial and banking sectorsparticularly in the areas of green securities and digitalization.

It should be emphasized that the advantages of Tajikistan, including:

--availability of large natural resources, including important mineral resources and raw materials;

--great possibility of green energy production;

--availability of sufficient labor resources and positive demographic indicators,

create a strong foundation for mutually beneficial cooperation.

History of Tajikistan:

The Tajiks are the peoples whose continuous presence in Central Asia and northern Afghanistan is attested from the middle of the 1st millennium BCE.

8th Century - Tajiks emerge as distinct ethnic group; 9th/10th Century Samanid dynasty, first Tajik State gains control of Central Asia and develops Bukhara as center of Muslim culture.

1920s: Modern Tajikistan emerges as a Republic under Soviet rule.

September 9, 1991: Tajikistan declares independence.

General information:

Capital: Dushanbe

Location: The South-east of Central Asia

Territory: 142,326 square kilometers

Population: 9,5 million people

Currency: Somoni

State border’s length: 700 kilometers from west to east, 350 kilometers from north to south. In the west and north, Tajikistan has borders with Uzbekistan (1332,9 kilometers) and Kyrgyz Republic (about 987 kilometers); in the south - with Afghanistan (1332,9 kilometers and in the east - with China (494,95 kilometers).

Climate: Continental. January from +22C (Panj) to -61C (Lake Bulunkul), July from -80C (Lake Bulunkul) to +45C (Panj).

Mountains belonging to the highest ranges of Central Asia make up 93% of the total area of the country (highest mountain, the Somoni's Peak, with an altitude of 7495 meters, is one of the highest in the world is in Pamir range).

Tajikistan has an abundance of lakes and rivers. There are about 947 rivers longer than 10 kilometers with a total length of more than 28500 kilometers. The rivers account for 60% of all hydro-resources of Central Asia.

Tajikistan's high mountains accommodate great supplies of ice and snow. The total area of the glaciers in Tajikistan covers more than 8476 square kilometers. There are over the thousand registered glaciers with a length of more than 1.5 kilometers. Sixteen glaciers (such as Fedchenko and Grumm-Grzymailo glaciers) have length of more than 16 kilometers.