On December 25, 1991, the United States of America recognized the independence of the Republic of Tajikistan, and on February 14, 1992, the two governments agreed to establish diplomatic relations.

December 25, 1991:  The United States of America recognized the independence of the Republic of Tajikistan.

February 14, 1992:  U.S. Secretary of State James Baker III and former Tajik president Rahmon Nabiev met in Dushanbe and agreed to establish diplomatic relations.

February 19, 1992:  The decision to establish diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the Republic of Tajikistan was confirmed and announced by former U.S. President George H.W. Bush.

March 13, 1992:  The first U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe was established by Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Edmund McWilliams with a staff of eight Americans and 16 Tajik citizens.

March 16, 1992:  The first U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe officially opened on the fourth floor of the former Oktyabarskaya Hotel (present-day Avesto Hotel).

July 1, 1992:  The United States and Tajikistan signed an agreement on trade relations which allowed for cooperation in areas of economics, business, investment, banking, and the creation of joint ventures.

July 1992:  The first U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan – Stanley Escudero – arrived in Tajikistan .

April-September 1992:  Every two to three weeks, U.S. Embassy staff delivered air shipments of food and medicine to the people of Tajikistan.  Embassy staff led convoys of five to eight trucks through checkpoints set up by pro-government and opposition forces to reach families and hospitals in need.

1992-present:  The U.S. government has provided $75 million worth of humanitarian assistance in the form of food, shelter, clothing, medicine, medical supplies, and even financial support to the people of Tajikistan since 1992.

1992-present:  Since 1992, The U.S. government has provided $130 million in assistance to Tajikistan’s farmers to help ensure food security and provide livelihoods to workers in the agricultural sector.  The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has helped farmers increase sales of produce by $16 million and facilitated almost $7 million in loans to farmers.

1992-present:  The U.S. government has provided over $230 million in assistance to Tajikistan since 1992 to protect the health of Tajikistan’s population.

1992-present:  Since 1992, 3,400 people from Tajikistan have traveled to the United States on U.S.-government sponsored exchange programs.  The U.S. government has provided scholarships for 188 Tajik students to receive degrees from U.S. universities and the American University of Central Asia.  Additionally, 1,228 future and current leaders of Tajikistan have traveled to the United States on study tours and short-term exchanges.

October 25, 1992:  Personnel of the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe were forced to evacuate due to heavy fighting in the capital.

March 20, 1993:  Personnel of the U.S. Embassy returned to Dushanbe and resumed normal operations.

1994:  The American NGO Save the Children allocated $1.3 million to rebuild houses in Bokhtar, Vakhsh, Shahritus, and Kulob districts that were destroyed in the civil war.

1994:  The first group of schoolchildren went to the United States to study for a year of high school through the FLEX program.  Since then, over 930 Tajik citizens have participated in this program, with an average of 37 students going each year.  

February 19, 1995:  The U.S. Embassy organized a concert by American conductor Charles Ansbacher at the Ayni Opera and Ballet Theater in Dushanbe.

1995:  At the invitation of the government of Tajikistan, an American Economics professor – William Lehr – worked as a consultant in Tajikistan for 8 months.  At the end of his mission, he provided recommendations that helped Tajikistan transition to a market economy.

1992-1997:  The U.S. government provided $178 million in aid to Tajikistan.

1992-1999:  USAID helped train election poll-workers and supplied materials and equipment to the Central Commission on Elections and Referenda for organizing elections.

1995-1998:  USAID advised the Government of Tajikistan on the country’s privatization effort.  

1995-1999:  The Central Asian-American Enterprise Fund, funded by USAID, disbursed over $3 million in loans to Tajikistan’s private businesses.

1995:  USAID opened a Business Initiative Center in Dushanbe to provide information to Tajikistan’s entrepreneurs as well as offer training on privatization and other economic-related topics for key government officials.

1996:  USAID began assisting Tajikistan’s independent television and radio stations with equipment, training, and technical assistance to increase the quality of their programming and management.

1996-1997:  The U.S. government provided over 68 tons of wheat to Tajikistan as humanitarian aid.

1997:  United States supported the UN-led peace process in Tajikistan and consulted regularly with both sides of the negotiations.  Once the Tajikistan Peace Accord was signed, the United States successfully urged the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to provide loans and aid to help Tajikistan rebuild.  USAID also supported the Reconciliation Council and the Constitutional Court in implementing and monitoring the peace process.

1997:  USAID helped establish a program that allowed farmers to receive small loans.  Recipients repaid their loans through in-kind contributions to local hospitals, orphanages, and other similar institutions, resulting in a benefit not only to entrepreneurs but also to vulnerable groups.

1997:  After a Typhoid outbreak in Dushanbe, USAID funded repairs to Dushanbe city’s water system to prevent subsequent health crises.

1997-present:  The U.S. government invested $20 million to install or renovate 3,200 water pumps or wells which have provided safe drinking water to over 235,000 people across Tajikistan.

1997-2000:  USAID created six civil society support centers in the cities of Khujand, Bokhtar, Kulob, Khorugh, Panjakent, and Dushanbe.

1998:  The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse opened in Boulder, Colorado.  Forty artisans from several cities of Tajikistan created the decorative elements of the teahouse, which was a gift from the city of Dushanbe to Boulder.

1998-2000:  USAID helped private farmers in war-affected areas increase agricultural production, achieving three to four-fold increases in wheat and potato yields in just two years.

1998-2002:  The U.S. government provided Tajikistan with 307,000 metric tons of food aid valued at $137 million.

1998-2006:  USAID-funded projects helped reintegrate over 1,200 former combatants and improved the lives of 140,000 families in war-torn areas through the rehabilitation of schools, clinics, water systems, irrigation channels, housing, and power stations.

1998-2006:  USAID worked in 400 communities in the districts of the Rasht Valley, the Sughd, and Khatlon regions to mitigate the sources of tension.  More than one million residents benefited from approximately 740 USAID-supported infrastructure projects, such as refurbishing schools and youth centers, health clinics, small-scale water supply systems, and irrigation canals. These initiatives improved social services, created 8,000 jobs. In the war-affected Kulob district, the Embassy also funded the rehabilitation of the district hospital, high school, water treatment facility, and four rural water systems serving over 118,000 people. 

1998-2017:  The U.S. government has funded the construction, renovation, or rebuilding of 117 schools and 8 clinics or hospitals around Tajikistan since 1998, including the following projects:  Nulvand Clinic, Obi Terra Medical Clinic and School #23 in Sari-Chashma Jamoat of Shamsiddin Shohin District, Qalai-Khumb Regional Hospital Clinic, Tavildara Village Clinic, Shahritus Village Clinic, Sari-Chashma Women’s Maternity/OB-GYN Hospital, Korez Village Health Clinic, Khatlon District Hospital, Hamadoni District School #19, Shireen Chasma Jamoat of Tojikobod District in Rasht Valley, Imam Muhiddin Village School, Lakkon School #39 in Isfara, Dushanbe School #44, Isfara School #67, Dushanbe School for the Blind, Parastu Kindergarten, Shugnon School, Jilga School in Shamsiddin Shohin District, Primary School in Marhamat Village of Asht District, Isfara School #31, Qalai-Khumb  Secondary School #5, Health Rehabilitation Boarding School of Rudaki District, School No 49 in Bokhtar, School #10 in Tavildara District, Qumsangir District Boarding School, Lojirk School, Kulob District High School, and Gharm Boarding School #1.  USAID also helped establish School Rehabilitation Committees and provided complimentary funding to support the renovation of 69 schools.

1999:  USAID began implementing youth programs for victims of Tajikistan’s Civil War.

2000:  Obi Zulol began as a joint Tajik-American venture.

2001-present:  Starting with a $30,000 grant in 2001 to complete the restoration of the reclining Buddha statue in the National Museum of Tajikistan, the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation Program has provided over $800,000 to fund 17 projects to preserve Tajikistan’s rich cultural heritage.  

2001:  USAID efforts led to the establishment of Radio “Tiroz,” as the first independent radio station in Tajikistan.

2001:  The U.S. government provided humanitarian aid to victims of an earthquake in Farkhor ($109,000).

2001-2014:  The U.S. government helped fund and facilitate the delivery of medicines, vaccines, and medical supplies worth over $408 million from the American organization Project Hope to Tajikistan’s hospitals and clinics.

2002-present:  Since 2002, the U.S. government has provided over $100 million in assistance to Tajikistan’s education sector.  USAID trained 28,000 teachers and provided 1.6 million children’s books to students across Tajikistan to help improve literacy and educational success.  USAID printed 1,560 books in Braille and developed 61 audio books to help visually impaired students access quality learning materials.  USAID has also provided nutritious school lunches for schoolchildren and teachers, as well as anti-parasitic medication, school health care, and vision and hearing screenings.  USAID helped rehabilitate water and sanitation facilities in schools and institute health education programs for all grades.  

2002-present:  Since 2002, the U.S. government has invested $25 million to improve electricity generation and distribution throughout Tajikistan.

February 7, 2003:  The Embassy of Tajikistan in the United States opened in Washington, D.C.

2003-2007:  The U.S. government renovated 27 schools through USAID’s Participation Education and Knowledge Strengthening project (USAID/PEAKS).

2003:  USAID helped rehabilitate 12 water pumping stations in the Khatlon Region which increased crop production for over 20,000 hectares of land and benefited over 72,000 people.  

2003-present:  USAID land reform projects have provided direct assistance to over 190,000 Tajik citizens.

2003-present:  The United States has provided more than $100 million to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis in Tajikistan, and to reduce stigma and identify and help those affected to seek and receive effective treatment.

2003-present:  130 musical groups, dance groups, artists and educational speakers have performed or presented for Tajik audiences with support from the U.S. Embassy.

2003-2009:  USAID supported 23 Professional Development Schools across Tajikistan to become professional training and resource centers for surrounding schools. These centers introduced interactive teaching methods to 1,500 teachers and effective school management practices to 600 education administrators.  

2004:  The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided 1,000 tons of a new high-yield wheat variety “Zhager-9” to dekhkan farmers in Tajikistan to increase crop productivity.

2004-present:  The U.S. government helped create the Council of the U.S.-Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) in 2004, and has organized annual meetings of the member nations to help promote trade between the United States and Tajikistan.

2004-2005:  The U.S. government provided emergency relief to the people of Tajikistan after floods in Varzob district in 2004 ($50,000) and Panjakent in 2005 ($600,000).

2005:  USAID renovated the Kyzyl-kishlak gage station, which is a critical facility for the effective regional management of the Syr Darya water basin.  Also in 2005, USAID facilitated the development of a law that created the legal basis for the establishment and operation of water users’ associations. 

2005-present:  The first American Space in Tajikistan opened in Kulob and Khujand.  There are now eight American Spaces in Tajikistan – located in Dushanbe, Khujand, Bokhtar, Kulob, Panjakent, Isfara, Gharm, and Khorugh.  

2005-present:  Since 2005, USAID has established 72 water user associations that improved irrigation management for over 170,000 farmers and increased crop yields on over 204,000 hectares of land.

2005-present:  The United States has provided around $30 million in assistance to improve maternal and child health in Tajikistan since 2005, which has reduced stunting, malnourishment, and infant mortality.  To this end, USAID supported the Law on Flour Fortification in Tajikistan to increase the amount of healthy nutrients in people’s daily diet and reduce malnutrition.  In 2019, the parliament of the Republic of Tajikistan ratified the law.

2005-present:  Over 100 American Fulbright English Teaching Assistants, Researchers, Scholars, English Language Fellows, and English Language Specialists have come to Tajikistan to share their knowledge and culture with Tajik audiences, teachers, students, and schoolchildren.  

2006:  The U.S. government provided humanitarian aid to victims of an earthquake in Qumsangir in 2006 ($24,000).

June 28, 2006:  The current building of the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe opened with participation of President Emomali Rahmon.  

2006-present:  The United States has constructed or renovated 27 border facilities in Tajikistan, including 13 border outposts, nine border checkpoint facilities, two border guard detachments, and three training centers at a cost of over $25 million.  The Embassy has also provided over 4,500 radios, 400 vehicles, 1,600 night-vision devices, and 160 kilometers of ground sensors to help Tajik border guards secure the border.  Some notable construction projects funded by the U.S. government include the Karatog National Training Center for the Ministry of Defense ($7 million), the Customs Training Academy ($3.4 million), Nuclear Radiation Safety Agency Regional Training Center in Dushanbe ($1 million), and the Shurobod Border Guard Detachment ($1.7 million).  

2007:  The U.S. government, through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the first major bridge between Tajikistan and Afghanistan at Panji Poyon at a cost of $37 million.  The United States funded an additional $11 million for modern customs facilities, border guard barracks, vehicle scanners, and other facilities on both sides of the bridge.  

Winter 2007-2008:  When severe cold and electricity outages led to hunger and other hardships, the United States provided $1 million in direct cash assistance to people in need along with 259,000 daily meal rations, blankets, bedding, clothes, fuel, and medical services, totaling $5 million in emergency assistance.  Private American charities and firms also donated $10.7 million in relief supplies to the Tajik people that winter. 

2009:  The Boulder Friendship Center opened in Dushanbe.  The center was a gift from the city of Boulder to Dushanbe as part of their sister city relationship that began in 1987.

2009-present:  The U.S. government has trained 260 English teachers on effective teaching methods through the English Teaching Mentor program.

May 2010:  After floods and mudslides struck residents of the Kulob area, the U.S. government provided more than $1.1 million of humanitarian assistance to help affected households in Vose, Temurmalik, Muminobod, Khovaling, Shohin, Baljuvon, Shahritus and Jilikul districts.  The assistance included tents, bedding, and medical supplies.  

2010:  After a polio outbreak, USAID provided polio vaccines to 900,000 children across Tajikistan.  

2011-present:  USAID has organized an annual Central Asia Trade Forum where hundreds of leaders from government, business and civil society from Central and South Asia, Europe, and the United States gather to explore investment opportunities in agriculture. 

2012:  In order to fight malnutrition and improve the overall health of children, the United States Department of Defense provided eight million pills to 2.6 million children and nearly two million women around Tajikistan to rid them of parasitic intestinal worms.

2012-present:  The United States has helped Tajikistan remove more than 6,840 landmines along the Tajik-Afghan border since donating the $1.2 million MineWolf demining machine to Tajikistan’s Ministry of Defense in 2012.  Removing these landmines has saved countless lives and made 230 hectares of farmland safe for cultivation and grazing.

2013:  The U.S. government played a role in helping Tajikistan join the World Trade Organization (WTO) in March 2013.  USAID helped draft Tajikistan’s accession memorandum to the WTO in 2003 and facilitated the revision of a significant number of regulations in Tajikistan, including policies related to market access for goods and services.  USAID established a WTO information center; expanded the understanding of government officials, businesses, and business associations on WTO accession issues; and helped bring Tajikistan’s foreign trade legislation into compliance with WTO rules.  

2013:  U.S. government provided $15 million to support the Central Asia-South Asia (CASA-1000) project to install an electricity transmission line from Tajikistan to South Asia.  

2015:  The U.S. government provided humanitarian aid to victims of floods in Barsem, Kolkhozobod, and the Rasht District in 2015 ($60,000) and to victims of an earthquake in Darvoz, Rushon, Shugnon, and Vanj districts ($100,000).

November 2015:  To further promote regional economic connectivity and political cooperation, the United States created the C5+1 forum with Central Asian nations and has organized multilateral meetings between the respective governments every year since.

2017:  USAID introduced the shorter multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis treatment regimen that reduced the treatment period from two years to nine months.  The first cohort of 324 patients have fully recovered after completing the shorter treatment regimen.  

2018:  USAID helped launch an automated electronic registration system which cut land registration times from a month to a matter of hours.

2019:  USAID helped Tajikistan conduct the first land auction in its history.   

September 2020:  USAID launched a five-year $36 million food security project to reduce hunger, undernutrition, and poverty in Tajikistan.

September 2020:  USAID began a five-year $12 million project to provide more equitable access to safe drinking water in rural communities in Tajikistan.

November 2020:  USAID constructed a 220-kilowatt solar power plant in Murghob to power remote villages in the area.

May 2021:  USAID launched a new five-year, $39 million regional energy program – the USAID Power Central Asia Activity in Tajikistan.

May 2021:  USAID launched a five-year $24 million project to strengthen regional cooperation on the management of shared water resources in the Syr Darya and Amu Darya River Basins.

2020-2021:  During the COVID-19 pandemic, USAID supported the production and broadcast of over 160 educational television programs which are broadcast nationwide.  USAID also developed two mobile apps to help schoolchildren improve reading skills.  

2020-2021:  The United States has provided over $12 million in assistance and nearly 2.5 million COVID-19 vaccines to help Tajikistan combat the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects.  This assistance also includes the provision of laboratory diagnostic equipment, oxygen ecosystem construction and supplies and related training for health provider staff throughout the country.  This support has systematically improved the country’s capacity to respond to current pandemic and also prepare for future health threats.