On September 27, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin met with the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West in Washington to discuss cooperation, according to the Tajik MFA information department.

The parties reportedly discussed a number of issues related to the current situation in Afghanistan, countering international terrorism and extremism, as well as some other international and regional issues being of mutual interesting. 

Recall, Tajik foreign minister noted at the General Debates of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 24 that threats such as terrorism, extremism, drug and arms trafficking, cybercrime and other forms of cross-border organized crime have a tendency to increase exponentially.

According to him, the international community needs tools that are fit for today's rapidly deteriorating environment.

Mechanisms that were established decades ago are now finding it difficult to cope with the emerging challenges, top Tajik diplomat said, noting that the world needs more robust multilateralism to tackle the toughest challenges, with the United Nations at the helm.

Concerning the current situation in Afghanistan, Muhriddin said that exactly one year ago, in this very same room, the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, in his virtual message before the United Nations General Assembly, dedicated more than half of his statement to the situation in Afghanistan.

“His concerns and warnings, unfortunately, fell on deaf ears,” Muhriddin said, noting that no inclusive government has been formed in Afghanistan despite repeated calls from Afghans, regional countries and the international community for greater ethnic, political and geographical diversity in the de facto administrative structures.

“The country is on the verge of humanitarian and economic catastrophe. To ease the suffering of the Afghan people during these difficult times, Tajikistan has provided its infrastructure, territory, and communication means to all stakeholders and donor countries to deliver humanitarian assistance directly to the people of Afghanistan. We have also never stopped providing the people of Afghanistan with much needed electricity since the Taliban came to power,” top Tajik diplomat said.

According to him, Afghanistan is rapidly becoming a safe haven for terrorist groups and a springboard for spreading the Taliban's radical extremism. 

“In addition, we are witnessing systematic work on transferring militant groups consisting of former nationals of Central Asia to the north of Afghanistan aimed at consolidating and creating a new hotbed of tensions near our borders,” said Muhriddin.  “Unfortunately, the implications for Tajikistan, which shares 1400 km of border with this country, are enormous.”

“In the current alarming situation, it is paramount for Tajikistan to strengthen its border with Afghanistan and create the necessary border infrastructure along its entire length,” noted Tajik foreign minister.  “At the same time, we believe that the participation of Afghanistan in the process of multifaceted regional cooperation is a key to the success of the efforts undertaken by the international community.”