Oriented on making people closer

Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Lord David Cameron, began his working trip to Central Asia with a visit to Dushanbe. The head of the Foreign Office, in addition to Tajikistan, will visit Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

David Cameron heralded a “new era” in relations between Britain and Central Asia during his visit to the region, making a diplomatic attempt to expand trade ties, security cooperation and environmental protection, the British online publication The Independent reports.

At a meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon at the Palace of the Nation in Dushanbe on Monday, Lord Cameron said “we can do more” to cooperate in key areas such as business, climate change and counter-terrorism.

“I am pleased to be the first foreign minister to visit your country. I’m just sorry it took so long,” he told President Rakhmon.

“We want to mark a new era in relations between the UK and all Central Asian republics, starting here in Tajikistan.

"We're basically here to say, 'Let's expand the partnership, let's do more together.'

This is the first visit by a British Foreign Secretary to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.

It is also reported that Lord Cameron will double the amount of funding for Chevening scholarships, which support people from overseas studying at British universities, and announce £50 million over the next three years for development costs across the region. In addition, a new scheme will be announced to promote English, including online learning resources with tailored local content available to teachers across Central Asia, the Foreign Office said.

In Dushanbe, David Cameron also met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan, Sirojiddin Mukhriddin. As part of this meeting, the ministers signed an Intergovernmental Agreement between Tajikistan and the United Kingdom on air services, which will lay the foundation for the further opening of direct flights between Dushanbe and London.

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Photo: independent.co.uk