Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon was accorded a red carpet welcome when he arrived here on Wednesday at the start of his two-day visit to Pakistan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan received the Tajik president on his arrival at the PM House.
A contingent of armed forces presented a salute to the visiting dignitary. President Rahmon reviewed the guard of honor, presented by a contingent of the three services of the armed forces.
Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Rahmon introduced their delegations to each other.
President Emomali Rahmon also planted a sapling at the lawns of PM House.
Later the two leaders along with their delegations went into for talks.
Earlier, Federal Minister Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar received the Tajik president as he alighted from his special aircraft, here at the Nur Khan airbase.
Cannons boomed for a 21-gun salute in honour of the visiting dignitary, besides a salute presented by the static guard.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomed President Emomali Rahmon in the capital and discussed his prospects of strengthening bilateral relations.
The visit is taking place at the invitation of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
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President Rahmon has visited Pakistan seven times since 1994. His last bilateral visit was in November 2015. In the multilateral context, President Rahmon visited Pakistan for the 13th ECO Summit held in Islamabad in March 2017.
Pakistan invites Tajikistan to benefit from Gwadar
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday invited Tajikistan to benefit from Pakistan’s Gwadar port as the shortest trade route to Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa.
In a meeting with his Tajik counterpart Sirajuddin Mehruddin here at Tajikistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Qureshi emphasized tapping the immense trade potential existing between the two countries.
Qureshi said Gwadar and Pakistan’s other seaports could help boost bilateral trade volume between Pakistan and Tajikistan.
Read more: Pakistan to cut port charges to facilitate trade
He said Pakistan and Tajikistan enjoyed fraternal relations based on common religious and cultural values.
He congratulated the Tajik foreign minister on the successful hosting of the 9th Heart of Asia Istanbul Process Conference, where the Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu Monday discussed myriad dimensions of bilateral relations including political and diplomatic engagement, economic cooperation, defence ties and collaboration in education and cultural fields.
The two foreign ministers expressed satisfaction over the nature of bilateral relations and reiterated their commitment to further strengthen it.
APP with additional input by GVS News Desk