Tajikistan – Turkmenistan: proven friendship, reliable partnership and new horizons

We bring to the attention of readers an article written by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Tajikistan to Turkmenistan Farrukh Sharifzoda and Head of the Department of Analysis and forecasting the foreign policy of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Tatarstan by Maruf Abdudzhabborov. The publication is timed to coincide with the visit of the President of Turkmenistan to Tajikistan and contains an analytical review of bilateral relations over a 30-year period, as well as the main conclusions and key recommendations.

This year 2023 is an anniversary year for Tajikistan and Turkmenistan - the year of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. With the signing of the Protocol "On the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan" 30 years ago, on January 27, 1993, the political basis of bilateral relations between the two independent States was laid.

Although the peoples of both countries already had seventy years of experience of close and joint relations back in Soviet times, after gaining independence, the adoption of this document brought our countries and peoples even closer, created additional conditions and prerequisites for successful cooperation, which is filled with new practical content from year to year.

This round date gives us the opportunity to sum up 30 years of mutually beneficial cooperation and look forward to the future with great optimism.

Relations between Tajikistan and Turkmenistan for three decades can be divided into several stages.

The first stage covers the period from 1993 to the early 2000s. At that time, diplomatic missions were opened in both countries, a regulatory framework for bilateral cooperation was created, and the foundations of trade and economic relations were laid.

An important point of this period, which should be particularly noted, is the cooperation to restore peace in Tajikistan.

After gaining independence, a civil war imposed from the outside began in Tajikistan. It took more than 3 years and 9 difficult rounds of inter-Tajik negotiations to achieve peace and unity in the country.

A significant circumstance that influenced the peace process in Tajikistan was the provision by friendly countries, including Turkmenistan, of platforms for holding negotiations and consultations between Tajik parties on their territory, which, due to various circumstances, excluded the possibility of holding them at home.

In such a difficult time, Turkmenistan, together with other guarantor countries of the inter-Tajik peace, provided political, humanitarian and moral support to Tajikistan at that time and thereby established itself as a reliable partner of Tajikistan in all spheres and on all issues of mutual interest.

On November 30, 1995, the fifth and one of the key rounds of the inter-Tajik negotiations began in Ashgabat and was held in three stages. The first stage ended on December 22, 1995. The second stage took place from January 26 to February 19, 1996, and finally, from July 8 to July 21, 1996, the third stage of negotiations took place.

The leadership of Turkmenistan and the Turkmen people, having shown a sense of sincere friendship for the Tajik people, created all conditions for inter-Tajik negotiations and made a worthy contribution to the process of national accord in the Republic of Tajikistan.

One of the distinctive moments of the Ashgabat talks was that they served as a basis for starting work on the implementation of previously approved documents and taking serious steps to achieve peace and unity.

Why has the capital of Turkmenistan turned out to be the preferred arena for inter-Tajik negotiations?

The fact is that, although some countries expressed their readiness to provide any conditions for holding negotiations on their territory, the heads of some of these states adhered to the views of the Tajik government, while others, on the contrary, supported the opposition. In the current situation, the position of neutral Turkmenistan, which maintains contact with both sides, differed favorably.

Turkmenistan, along with making an invaluable contribution to the process of achieving inter-Tajik peace, also provided great assistance in accepting a large flow of Tajik refugees to its land.

During the civil war in Tajikistan, numerous Tajik refugees were on the territory of Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan has sheltered, provided housing and food for more than 17 thousand ethnic Turkmens and 60 thousand Tajiks who left the Republic of Tajikistan at the beginning of the civil war.

In general, Turkmenistan has made a significant contribution to the approximation of national reconciliation in the Republic of Tajikistan. In other words, Turkmenistan has successfully passed the "friendship test". In this regard, it is appropriate to recall a folk proverb that says - "A friend is known in trouble." This proverb is also characteristic of Turkmenistan, which found itself side by side with Tajikistan in difficult times.

The second stage in the development and deepening of bilateral cooperation was the period from 2000 to 2006, when the political dialogue between the two countries began to develop intensively and reached a dynamic level.
Tajikistan has emerged from the martial law and has begun to take firm steps to develop multilateral relations with all countries of the world. Expanding relations with Turkmenistan, a strategically important country in the region, was certainly one of the priorities of Tajikistan's foreign policy.

Among the important and key issues of bilateral relations during this period were the Afghan crisis, the adoption of measures to combat international terrorism and extremism, the expansion of cooperation to strengthen security, the prevention of drug trafficking, etc.

We must not forget that during this period, both countries, like other post-Soviet states, were also busy searching for their place in the international arena in the changed world conditions.

The third stage of bilateral cooperation (2007-2017) is characterized by high political, economic and cultural rapprochement, which is based on mutual visits at the highest level, the adoption of a large package of interstate agreements, the opening of new horizons of cooperation in many areas of mutual interest and benefit.

The coming to power of Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, meetings and negotiations at the highest level with Emomali Rahmon, gave a new impetus to further mutually beneficial cooperation in the socio-economic, cultural and humanitarian fields, in the fields of transport and communications, and opened a new milestone in relations between the two countries.

The official visits of President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to the Republic of Tajikistan and President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon to Turkmenistan in 2007 can be considered the beginning of a new stage in the history of bilateral relations. During these visits, several comprehensive documents on cooperation in various spheres of bilateral relations were signed.

Within the framework of contacts at the highest political level, a working visit of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon to Turkmenistan took place in 2009. The result of this visit was the signing of bilateral documents, including an agreement on the establishment of a joint intergovernmental Tajik-Turkmen commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation.

In continuation of this positive trend, the mutual state visits of the Presidents of both countries in 2010, 2014 and 2015 gave a serious impetus to the process of relations. After these visits and negotiations at the highest level, the directions of further cooperation in the fields of energy, transport, oil and gas, ensuring regional security, ecology, environmental protection, education and culture were discussed in detail.

During this period, the cultural dialogue between the two countries has become a good tradition. The Days of Culture of Turkmenistan in Tajikistan (September 21-25, 2010) and the Days of Culture of Tajikistan in Turkmenistan (November 11-13, 2010) were held, which turned into a celebration of the cultures of the two countries. Since then, these events have been held regularly in both countries, the role of which in strengthening cultural ties between the two countries is very obvious.

In general, this period can be called the opening of a new page of multi-sectoral cooperation between the two countries and a turning point in all existing relations.

The fourth, qualitatively new period in the system of bilateral cooperation began in 2017 and continues to this day. The beginning of the fourth stage can be considered November 2-3, 2017, when, following the talks of the Presidents of the two countries Emomali Rahmon and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, an Agreement on strategic partnership between Tajikistan and Turkmenistan was signed in Dushanbe.

The signing of this strategic document brought the relations of the two countries to a qualitatively new level and laid a solid foundation of trust for strengthening and developing long-term friendly relations.

What is a strategic partnership? This is a wide range of fields of activity, a common understanding of the goals and principles of development, long-term mutually beneficial cooperation at the international level to achieve common goals for the sake of solving national and state tasks.

The essence of strategic partnership lies in the existence of such interstate interaction that allows partners, by joining forces, to achieve vital domestic and foreign policy goals. Its reliability is determined by the mutual willingness of the parties to take into account each other's interests, the availability of effective mechanisms for implementing cooperation, and the discipline of partnerships.

Today Tajikistan has diplomatic relations with 180 countries of the world and trade and economic relations with 130 states. Among these 180 countries, Tajikistan has signed a strategic partnership agreement with six States, one of which is Turkmenistan. This testifies to the high level of relations between the two countries, the special priority of Turkmenistan in the foreign policy strategy and the foreign regional policy of Tajikistan.

In general, these four periods of relations represent four qualitatively and fundamentally new levels of friendly and partnership relations between Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, each of which step by step allowed both countries to achieve significant bilateral achievements over 30 years.

We can say with great optimism that the coming to power of Serdar Berdimuhamedov will lead to the beginning of another period of prosperity in bilateral relations and the opening of a new page of mutually beneficial achievements.

Currently, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan demonstrate high diplomatic etiquette, mutual respect, equality, comprehensive strategic partnership and sincere friendship.

Cooperation between Tajikistan and Turkmenistan is based on a solid legal framework, which currently consists of more than 119 documents regulating cooperation in various fields.

The Turkmen diaspora in Tajikistan and numerous Tajiks living in Turkmenistan also play an important role in our bilateral relations. They form a dynamic "living bridge" between our countries, make an invaluable contribution to the Tajik-Turkmen friendship.

Today, about 30 thousand Turkmens live on the territory of Tajikistan in two districts of the Khatlon region, Dusti and Kabodien. They are engaged in cotton cultivation, gardening, vegetable growing, work in various fields of the national economy and make a worthy contribution to the construction of a new life of the country as full-fledged citizens of Tajikistan.

Representatives of the Turkmen people, including in senior positions, work in ministries and republican institutions, judicial bodies. 70% of all doctors and medical staff in the Dusti area are also representatives of this nation.

Tajiks and Turkmens in Tajikistan have developed good, good-neighborly relations based on equality and respect for each other, and joint families have appeared over the past few years. This is due to the fact that our peoples are closely connected by deep historical roots, common religion, similarity of language, values and customs.

Currently, various national holidays of Turkmenistan are widely celebrated in the regions of Tajikistan where the Turkmen national minority lives.

There are 7 Tajik-Turkmen educational institutions in Khatlon region, in which 3,000 Turkmen children are taught in their native language. Also, more than 100 Turkmen students study at universities in Tajikistan on the basis of intergovernmental agreements. On the territory of the Dustinsky district, a building of a secondary school named after Makhtumkuli with the Turkmen language of instruction for 540 places is being built.

As a result of the effective implementation of the signed documents and agreements, the volume of trade turnover between the two countries tends to increase, and in 2022 it amounted to more than 53 million US dollars. This figure is 2.5 times higher than in 2021.

It is worth noting that the dynamics of trade turnover between Tajikistan and Turkmenistan is the highest compared to other CIS countries.

There is great hope that in the future, under the leadership of the leader of the Tajik people Emomali Rahmon and the young and promising President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhammedov, this good tradition of relations will be continued and both countries will achieve great and unprecedented achievements.

Over 30 years of effective cooperation, Tajik-Turkmen relations have become an example of successful and mutually beneficial cooperation in the Central Asian region.

Conclusions and recommendations

In addition to the achievements and positive experience of mutually beneficial cooperation, there are also untapped resources in trade, economic, scientific, cultural and other spheres in the bilateral relations between Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, which are very important to focus on in the future.

First, due to the need to further expand mutual cooperation in all relevant fields, close and unhindered ties between the peoples of both countries, and the steady development of trade and economic cooperation, consideration of two main issues seems very important: firstly, the abolition of visas and, secondly, to restore direct flights between Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Secondly, despite the fact that the "Agreement on cooperation in the field of tourism" between Tajikistan and Turkmenistan was adopted on May 5, 2014, there are not so many visible results in this direction. Therefore, it is considered appropriate to hold a Tajik-Turkmen tourism forum with the involvement of experts and officials of the tourism industry and representatives of travel companies. An exhibition of Tajik and Turkmen travel companies can be organized on the sidelines of this Forum.

Third: in 2017, as part of the official visit of the national leader of the Turkmen people Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to the Republic of Tajikistan, a business forum of entrepreneurs of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan was held in Dushanbe. It should be noted that six years have passed since the date of this forum. During this time, the economic and trade opportunities of both countries have significantly improved, the conditions for establishing trade and economic cooperation have expanded.

In this regard, the organization and holding of the next business forum of entrepreneurs of Tajikistan and Turkmenistan in order to exchange experience, ensure and strengthen the development of business and economic relations between the two countries, mutual familiarization of entrepreneurs with each other's products and export-import opportunities is considered timely.

Fourth: assistance in the creation of a joint venture for the processing of oil and petroleum products, including the possibility of their supply to Tajikistan.

Fifth: continue to increase the volume of mutual trade, strive for a breakthrough in cooperation in agriculture, industry, energy, transport, information and communication technologies, etc.

Sixth: to intensify cooperation in the field of culture, education, sports, as well as tourism in order to further strengthen friendship and spiritual rapprochement of the peoples of the two countries.

Seventh: comprehensively deepen cooperation in the field of law enforcement and security, strengthen coordination in the fight against the "three forces of evil", non-traditional security threats and on Afghan issues in order to make a greater contribution to promoting regional security, stability, development and prosperity.

Eighth: to strengthen cooperation in international and regional affairs, to continue to provide firm mutual support in matters concerning each other's fundamental interests.

In conclusion, it should be noted that the first state visit of President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov to the Republic of Tajikistan, which took place on May 10-11, 2023, is a significant event of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two states.

It is safe to say that this visit opens a new page in the further strengthening of bilateral political, economic, cultural, scientific, educational and humanitarian ties.

It is gratifying that following the results of the state negotiations at the highest level, a Declaration was adopted that allows us to raise relations between the two countries to the level of an in-depth strategic partnership.

Undoubtedly, the results of the historic state visit of the President of Turkmenistan to Tajikistan with the signing of a solid package of bilateral documents will open a new milestone in Tajik-Turkmen cooperation.