Tajikistan will pursue 'balanced, verified foreign policy,' says president

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – Tajikistan will pursue "a balanced and verified foreign policy" aimed at ensuring national interests and protecting traditional values in the face of worsening global situation, President Emomali Rahmon said on Friday.

Addressing the Tajik parliament in the capital Dushanbe, Rahmon said Tajikistan intends to expand and develop relations with all countries of the world based on its "open door" foreign policy.

The president said geopolitical confrontations, trade conflicts and spread of infectious illnesses have risen over the past five years and led to a global economic crisis.

This year was marked by the expansion of trade and economic sanctions, resulting in a disruption in existing trade chains, decrease in production and jump in food prices, he added.

"In the current conditions of rapid and unpredictable development of the world economy, acute competition for access to resources and the consequences of climate change in the country, all modern means of boosting investment should be widely used," he said.

Rahmon also urged to expand the financing of special "green" funds created for the development of a "green economy."

Tajikistan, he said, is coping well with the challenges caused by economic reforms, as the country's economy has been growing by 7.3% on average annually over the last five years.

"Today, geopolitical processes, while continuing to remain complex and complicated, cause the growth of contradictions and conflicts, as well as increased competition between states and their desires to expand their influence in various regions of the world," he said.

In such conditions, Tajikistan stands for solving international problems and regional conflicts through dialogue and support strengthening the key role of the UN in this process, he stressed.