Tajikistan and Afghanistan agree to open consulates

Tajikistan and Afghanistan have agreed to open consulates in their countries. The document confirming this step was signed on Tuesday following a meeting between Foreign Minister of Afghanistan's provisional government, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, and his Tajik counterpart Talbak Nazarov.

The Tajik consulate will open in the town of Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan, while the Afghan diplomatic mission will be located in Khorog, Dr Abdullah said.

The Afghan minister also met President Emomali Rakhmonov. According to Abdullah, they discussed bilateral friendly ties and exchanged opinions on regional security issues and the situation in Afghanistan. Abdullah said that the Tajik president had declared his complete backing for the Afghan government and promised that he would use all means at his disposal to ensure multifaceted support for the Karzai government, including through active co-operation in the economic restoration of the neighbouring state.