Iran, Tajik presidents meet, sign cooperation agreements

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DUSHANBE, Tajikistan – Agreements and protocols on Iranian-Tajik cooperation in hydroelectric energy, geological exploration, extradition and completion of the Istiqlol tunnel were signed January 4 during an official visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Meeting a week after news reports that Iran had tried to secretly purchase uranium from Kazakhstan, Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said Iran is a strategic partner and expressed support for Iran’s nuclear program.

“We support Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, which is directed toward the development of the peaceful atom and energy, and we support a diplomatic decision to this issue”, Rakhmon told Tajik State Television.

The two leaders issued a statement on mutual cooperation between Tajikistan and Iran. Agreements were also signed for extradition of suspects between the two countries, and an agreement for study of land and geological information systems.

Tajik Energy and Industry Minister Gul Sherali told journalists the two countries signed a memorandum pledging funding for the completion of the Istiqlol tunnel. Iran will provide US $6 million for the project, of which US $1 million is a grant and the other US $5 million is a long-term loan, he said.

Construction of the tunnel was started six years ago, but has been stopped a number of times due to a lack of funds. A Central Asia Online correspondent reports that Iran has signed a number of similar agreements for funding the tunnel in the past.

A memorandum for a feasibility and economic benefit study for the 150 MW Ayni hydroelectric dam project was also signed. Sherali said agreement was also reached to speed up construction of the 220 MW Sangtuda-2 hydroelectric dam, 120 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe.

“This project will cost US $220 million, of which US $180 million will be provided by the Iranian side. The startup of the first Sangut-2 unit, generating 110 MW, is planned by the end of 2010”, Sherali said.

Rakhmon’s expressed support for Iran’s nuclear program, along with the memorandum for cooperation in geologic exploration and information systems, raises questions whether Iran may see Tajikistan as a potential source of uranium. Rakhmon has expressed similar support for Iran’s nuclear program in the past.

Tajikistan was a major producer of uranium for the Soviet nuclear weapons and power program. While some believe the country’s supply of uranium was exhausted in the 1980s, Rakhmon told parliament in 2008 the country has 13 percent of the known world reserves of uranium. Other reports say Tajikistan is cooperating with Russia to develop uranium deposits and extract the element from tailings left behind from earlier mining operations.