Forging ahead with its “Connect Central Asia Policy” for a more robust geo-strategic engagement with the region, India has decided to elevate its bilateral ties with Tajikistan to a long-term strategic partnership. With this, Tajikistan will become the third central Asian country after Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to have a strategic partnership with India.
The announcement of this elevation in ties to a strategic level came on Monday evening, following a meeting between visiting Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The two sides also inked six agreements for cooperation in the health, education, labour, sports, culture and textiles sector.
Describing Tajikistan as “a key partner of India in the Central Asian region” — it lies within India’s extended neighbourhood — the PM said the decision to elevate the partnership to a strategic level was taken in view of the close ties between the two countries especially in the areas of defence and security.
Dushanbe also provided New Delhi a shot in the arm by backing its demand that their close neighbour Pakistan bring the perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attacks to book. A joint statement issued after the meeting between the PM and the Tajik leader, without naming Pakistan, said both sides sought the “active prosecution of the authors of such crimes and their accomplices and urged that they be brought to justice expeditiously”.
The joint statement also reaffirmed that international terrorism poses a threat to global peace and security. Again, without naming Pakistan it “condemned those who support terrorism and underscored that those aiding, abetting and sheltering terrorists were as guilty of acts of terrorism as their actual perpetrators”.
Official sources here acknowledge that India has been pursuing a “very pro-active phase in our engagement with Central Asia” based on a “pro-active engagement in numerous spheres — economic, defence, strategic, cultural, etc.”. They also note that India and Tajikistan have a “ very close and active defence cooperation”.
The “robust defence partnership” has also seen India playing a major role in the reconstruction of the Gissar military aerodrome and by making it a state-of-the-art facility. It has also assisted in relaying and extending the runway and constructing an air-control tower and three aircraft hangars at the Ayni air base where India is hopeful it will be able to one day base its fighter aircraft.
Importantly, the two sides also discussed Afghanistan and the challenges it poses “including the existence of safe havens and sanctuaries for terrorism and drug-trafficking”.