On Monday February 26, Tajik Ambassador to Belarus, Mahmadsahrif Haqdod, met in Minsk with Belarusian Minister of Defense, Lieutenant-General Andrei Ravkov.

According to the Tajik MFA information department, the two discussed state and prospects of bilateral military and technical cooperation between Tajikistan and Belarus. 

Haqdod and Ravkov, in particular, discussed issues related to exchange of delegations, training of military personnel for Tajik national army and carrying out joint events.  

They also exchanged views on the issues of expansion of the legal foundation of cooperation between the two countries, and interaction between the defense ministries in both bilateral and multilateral formats, in particular in the frameworks of the CIS, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and other regional organizations.

A source at the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan says the defense ministries of Tajikistan and Belarus has been actively cooperating in both bilateral format and in the frameworks of the CIS and the CSTO since the end of the last century. 

In 2001, sub-units of Tajikistan’s air defense forces participated in military exercises in Belarus, the source said, noting that sub units of the Belarusian armed forces participated in all CSTO antiterrorist exercises that were conducted at the Tajik-Afghan border.  

Belarus has repeatedly provided financial and technical support to Tajikistan’s armed forces, the source added.