Iranian president hails special ties with Tajikistan

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who in on an official visit to Dushanbe viewed the close and friendly relations between the two countries as special and exceptional. The president, who was in Tajikistan upon his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon's formal invitation on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the ex-Soviet state's independence, hailed bilateral ties between Tehran and Dushanbe as "special and exceptional." He referred to the common cultural, historical and traditional commonalties between the two Persian-speaking nations and called for further exchanges of expertise in technological fields between Iran and Tajikistan. Ahmadinejad arrived in Dushanbe on Sunday afternoon on a two-day visit and was received by Emomali Rahman. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, Health Minister Marziyeh Vahid Dastjerdi and Minister of Energy Majid Namjou as well as a large number of other senior political and economic officials accompany President Ahmadinejad in the trip. Prior to his departure from Tehran earlier today, Ahmadinejad, who himself holds a PhD in civil engineering, noted the two countries' abundant joint ventures and projects, including the Sangtude-2 Dam, and praised Iranian engineers for their exceptional expertise and for their proper and skillful application of the hi-tech in constructing the dam. Tajik officials and people are happy to see that the project is accomplished even 6 months ahead of the declared timetable. The construction project of the dam on Vakhsh river as well as its 220-megawatt power plant called Sangtuda-2 started by an Iranian company in early 2006. Management of the dam which will produce one billion kw/h electricity once fully implemented will go to Tajikistan after 12 years of implementation by Iran. Ahmadinejad is also due to finalize a contract on the construction of Eini power plant near Zarafshan river during his visit to the Central Asian state. The Iranian President will also ink a contract over the construction of a cement plant in Tajikistan.