Tajik Foreign Minister Khamrokhon Zarifi offered to assist Afghanistan in addressing the problem of water resources and rehabilitation of melioration system of this country, CA-NEWS reported.
"Tajikistan confirms the feasibility of building a network of hydroelectric stations for storage of water and land reclamation in Afghanistan through the introduction of irrigation systems in these areas," said Zarifi, speaking at a conference on Afghanistan in Istanbul on Wednesday. Speech of Zarifi is published on the website of the Ministry.
Currently, Tajikistan has been actively contributing to the preparation of professional personnel for civilian use in Afghanistan. "Today we offer a multi-disciplinary professional and technical center for training specialists for the needs of the economy of Afghanistan in Tajikistan, and invite the international community to assist in this project," said Zarifi.
He noted that an important factor for sustainable socio-economic development is the involvement of Afghanistan in the process of regional integration through economic and trade cooperation with neighboring states. The minister expressed confidence that the V Conference of Regional Economic Cooperation on Afghanistan (RECCA V), which will be held on March 26-27, 2012 in Dushanbe under the auspices of the initiative "New Silk Road", along with a business forum and a forum of scientists and researchers, will make a significant contribution.
"Tajikistan supports the implementation of regional infrastructure projects in the field of communications and transport, which involve Afghanistan. Railway route between Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, which is also connected to an existing branch of Uzbekistan-Afghanistan, as well as two promising branches of Iran-Afghanistan and Turkmenistan-Afghanistan, has been studied by international experts and needs specific actions. This route, which later turned into a transit artery in the region, will increase trade between our countries and will provide significant revenue to the budget of Afghanistan," said Zarifi.
"It is also necessary to note remarkable transit projects of high-voltage lines through Afghanistan. CASA-1000 project, which will combine the solution to the problem of electricity shortage in Afghanistan and Pakistan and an excess of cheap electricity in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, is considered by us as the most urgent at the present time and is included as a priority project of the Istanbul conference," stressed the Tajik Foreign MInister.
Zarifi expressed confidence that the Istanbul conference will become "an important milestone towards the restoration of peace, security and stability, as well as the creation of favorable conditions for economic and social development in Afghanistan."
He believes that the implementation of projects aimed at regional integration will prevent the destructive forces of Afghanistan to engage "in a full-scale civil war." The Minister expressed willingness of Tajikistan to continue to provide opportunities for the training of personnel for the Afghan security forces.
"Despite the existing differences and the difference in approaches, there is an urgent need to search for consensus decision for the benefit of security and stability in Afghanistan and the region. Today we have to put the interests of long-suffering Afghan people, rather than regional or national problem or biased ambitions, in the priority. The future situation of the Asian region depends on today's decision and the decisions to be taken in Bonn," concluded Zarifi.
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