DUSHANBE, Tajikistan –

On 23-25 June, Petko Draganov, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General and Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), paid his first official visit to Tajikistan for meetings with Sirojiddin Aslov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lieutenant-General Rustam Nazarzoda, Head of the Drug Control Agency under the President of Tajikistan, Erkinkhon Rahmatullozoda, State Councilor to the President on Foreign Policy, as well as the representatives of diplomatic corps accredited to Tajikistan.

During the meetings an exchange of views took place on the current situation and potential trends in Tajikistan and in Central Asia, against the backdrop of developments in Afghanistan, in the context of the drawdown of the troops of the international coalition and the increasing amounts of information on the concentration of the Taliban and ISIL on the Tajik-Afghan border.

Particular attention was paid to regional cooperation in the management of trans-boundary water and energy resources, the prospects for achieving mutually acceptable solutions and possible assistance of the international community. The situation around the disputed parts of the border and the possibility of peaceful and negotiated solutions of border-related problems were discussed, as well as topical issues of regional cooperation aimed at countering terrorism, religious extremism, drug trafficking and organized crime. UNRCCA’s preventive initiatives on these issues were also on the agenda.