Dushanbe, 12 March - Neftegaz.RU. In the boldest signal of bilateral amity to date, Uzbekistan’s president announced during a seminal visit to Tajikistan on March 9, 2018, that he intends to support the major hydropower project that has been a source of tension between the 2 nations.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev told his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon that Uzbekistan is willing to get involved across the board in the Tajik hydroelectric sector, and name-checked the highly contentious giant Rogun Dam.
Construction at Roghun is now underway and according to optimistic Tajik estimates should begin to generate power as early as the end of this year.
Both presidents noted in a joint statement to the media in Dushanbe that Tajikistan's hydroelectric facilities could benefit the entire region. That marks a monumental change to the tone adopted under the late Uzbek leader Islam Karimov, who was aggressively opposed to Roghun project, describing it as a threat to his downstream nation’s security.
Bilateral trade in 2017 between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan amounted to $126 million, with the larger amount, $69 million, flowing from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan. Striking a remarkably ambitious note, Rahmon said that as a result of bilateral agreements, the volume of trade would «soon» reach $1 billion, although he omitted to provide a specific timeframe.
