More than 100 Uzbek artistes will arrive in Dushanbe for participation in a Friendship Evening concert.  They arrived in Dushanbe yesterday on a charter flight operated by Uzbekistan Airways.

The Friendship Evening concert will take place at the Kokhi Borbad State Complex in Dushanbe on March 9 and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev will attend the concert, an official source at the Tajik Ministry of Culture told Asia-Plus in an interview.

Among Uzbek artistes who will arrive in Dushanbe for participation in the concert are popular Uzbek singers such as Yulduz Usmanova, Sherali Jourayev, Farrukh Zakirov and Ozodbek Nazarbekov.

According to him, some 150 Tajik artistes, including Davlatmand kholov, Nigina Amonqulova, Rustam Duloyev and Shashmaqom performers, will participate in the concert.   

Recall, Uzbek president’s state visit to Tajikistan is set for March 9-10.  The visit is expected to result in signing of more than 20 new cooperation documents.

The last state visit by an Uzbek president to Tajikistan was in 2000

There are high hopes for Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s upcoming state visit to Tajikistan.

In a little more than a year in office, Mirziyoyev has reportedly made strides to repair the country’s relations with its neighbors, making three visits to Turkmenistan, four to Kazakhstan and one to Kyrgyzstan.

Experts note that like Mirziyoyev’s visit to Kyrgyzstan last September, the upcoming trip to Tajikistan holds historic significance.

Relations between the countries have become warmer after Shavkat Mirziyoyev came to power in Uzbekistan in 2016.  Mirziyoyev has said that improving ties with Central Asian nations is a major priority of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev told lawmakers in the Tashkent region on January 6 that important bilateral agreements would be signed during his visit to Tajikistan.  “We will sign many agreements on cooperation in the railway and energy spheres.  We will also be considering many other issues,” he said.