Kazakh, Tajik presidents agree to enhance strategic partnership

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev agreed Tuesday with his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon to deepen the level of their countries' strategic partnership during talks in Astana, according to Kazakhstan's presidential press service Akorda.

The statement said the two presidents discussed the current state and prospects of bilateral relations during the meeting in the Kazakh capital.

They paid particular attention to trade and economic cooperation, as well as collaboration in the water and energy sectors.

It added that Tokayev and Rahmon emphasized the importance of fully implementing all previously reached high-level agreements.

"Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Emomali Rahmon also exchanged views on current regional and international issues," the statement said.

Rahmon arrived in Astana earlier Tuesday on a working visit, during which he will participate in the Regional Ecological Summit 2026 and a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Founding Members of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), both scheduled to take place in the capital.

The three-day Regional Ecological Summit, a high-level international forum held under UN auspices, will begin Wednesday.

Tokayev proposed the initiative on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2023, and it was later supported during the 80th session last year.

Meanwhile, IFAS was established in 1993 by the heads of state of Central Asian countries to address the environmental crisis in the Aral Sea basin and improve the socio-economic situation in the region.

Kazakhstan and Tajikistan signed a treaty on allied relations in August 2024.