Tariq Saeedi and Elvira Kadyrova
Ambassador Farrukh Homiddin Sharifzoda has completed his very successful and productive tenure in Turkmenistan.
During his six years and five months as the head of the Tajik mission in Ashgabat, Sharifzoda worked with remarkable clarity of objectives and the superior diplomatic skills to meet those objectives.
It is useful to analyse here some of the successes of Sharifzoda because in doing so, we also aim to highlight the fact that an ambassador plays a decisive role in building the partnership with the host country.
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Farrukh Homiddin Sharifzoda assumed his responsibilities as the ambassador of Tajikistan in Turkmenistan on 3 January 2017. Before that, he had already completed his ambassadorial tenure in Turkey.
One of his earliest successes here was the upgrading of the bilateral relations to the level of Strategic Partnership. The agreement was signed during the visit of the then-President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to Tajikistan in November 2017.
It is noteworthy that among the 180 countries with which Tajikistan has diplomatic relations, there are only six with bilateral strategic partnership commitment.
During the same visit, both the countries signed agreements on long-term cooperation in trade and economy, and agriculture. In all, thirteen documents were signed during that visit.
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The signing of mutual documents creates the legal base for interaction between the countries. Each documents requires thorough work and deep consideration before reaching the stage of signing.
Tajikistan has more than 2100 bilateral documents with the countries of the world. Of these, there are 142 documents between Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. This is nearly 7% of the total number of documents. It is one of the indicators of the dynamic performance of Ambassador Sharifzoda and previous envoys of Tajikistan.
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The visit of President Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan to Tajikistan on 10 May 2023 was a pivotal moment to give impetus to the growth of the partnership.
President Berdimuhamedov and President Rahmon signed a declaration on deepening the strategic partnership. This outcome was certainly the result of the massive teamwork from both sides including the active role played by ambassador Sharifzoda.
In addition, 23 other documents were also signed during the visit.
Among them, three documents were related to the transport and transit sector, an area of crucial importance for both Turkmenistan and Tajikistan:
- Memorandum between the National Bank of Tajikistan and the Central Bank of Turkmenistan;
- Agreement between the Customs Service under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan on the organization of the exchange of preliminary information on goods and vehicles transported across the customs border;
- The program of joint activities (“Roadmap”) to expand further cooperation in the field of increasing cargo flow and activating multimodal transport between the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan for 2023-2025;
- Memorandum between the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Agency “Turkmenautoulaglary” [Turkmen Motor Transport] of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan on the development of international transport.
In addition, there was the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan to encourage mutual trade and make use of the framework understanding in the transport and transit sphere.
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After the documents have been signed, there comes the need for their implementation. This is the job of the ambassador and his team to keep working with the host country for the implementation of the mutual commitments.
As an example, we will mention the joint program (“Roadmap”) for further expansion of cooperation in the field of increasing cargo traffic and activating multimodal transport between Tajikistan and Turkmenistan for 2023-2025, signed during the visit of the president of Turkmenistan to Tajikistan in May 2023.
The Roadmap, in particular, envisages the following:
- creation of favorable conditions, including the application of tariff preferences, to increase the rail freight traffic between the enterprise “Turkmendemiryollary” (“Turkmen Railways”) and the State Unitary Enterprise “Roҳi oҳani toҷikiston” (“Tajik Railway”);
- expert meetings and appointment of responsible national logistics operators on the organization of container transportation on the route Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan – Tajikistan – China border;
- exploring possibilities of organizing an international container train on the route Tajikistan – Europe, transit through Turkmenistan;
- exploring the possibility of developing an end-to-end logistics service in order to increase the export-import cargo transportation by rail and sea;
- attraction of transport and logistics companies to use the potential and services of the Turkmenbashi International Seaport;
- providing favorable conditions for owners, carriers and forwarding companies in the organization of international transportation.
- Another document, the Memorandum on the Development of International Transport, focuses on the opportunities for the development of international transport corridors.
This is the depth of just one document – there are many more.
Moreover, the scope of this MoU is rather wide. It emphasizes the significance of increasing efficiency and developing new international transportation corridors, such as the multimodal corridor China-Tajikistan-Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Turkey.
It has been only a little more than a month since the signing of this document but Ambassador Sharifzoda has been putting the measures in place for the implementation of its provisions.
It also shows the panoramic nature of the responsibilities of an ambassador.
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Energy cooperation is an important area of partnership between Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. In this context, an essential component is the Line D of the Central Asia-China gas pipeline network.
The total length of the new line would be 966 km. This line will pass through the territory of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan (205 km), Tajikistan (391 km), Kyrgyzstan (215 km) and China (155 km).
An intergovernmental agreement on the construction of this gas pipeline on the territory of Tajikistan was signed in September 2013. In March 2014, the Chinese oil and gas company CNPC entered into an agreement with Tajiktransgaz, on the basis of which a joint venture was created for the construction and operation of the Trans-Tajik Gas Pipeline Company Ltd gas pipeline with a share of $300 million each.
It is expected that 25-30 billion cubic meters of natural gas will be supplied annually from Turkmenistan to China through this gas pipeline. The implementation of this project will attract more than $3 billion of Chinese direct investment in the Tajik economy.
There have been some delays in the implementation of Line D because of various reasons. However, it is back on track now.
In the recently held Central Asia-China summit a firm commitment was made for the implementation of this project. The background work for the revival of Line D to the list of priorities was a teamwork of experts and officials from the participating countries. Ambassador Farrukh Sharifzoda played a noticeable role.
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Tajikistan will host the Fifth Anniversary Consultative Meeting of the heads of Central Asian states in Dushanbe in September this year.
A regular meeting of the Council of the Heads of the Founding States of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) will also be held in tandem.
Ambassador Sharifzoda has contributed actively in coordinating the groundwork for the Turkmen side.
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The days of culture are held reciprocally between Turkmenistan and the partner countries to promote the awareness of the culture of each other and encourage the people-to-people contacts.
The days of culture of Turkmenistan and Tajikistan are held regularly on mutual basis. The last event of this kind was the days of the culture of Tajikistan in Turkmenistan, held 23-25 November 2022.
It was a large-scale composition of song and dance concerts, and exhibitions of arts and crafts. There was screening of documentaries.
The Tajik delegation composed of 90 artists and performers, the best from Tajikistan, was led by the minister of culture, Ms. Zulfiya Davlatzoda.
Ambassador Farrukh Homiddin Sharifzoda of Tajikistan and spouse hosted a reception on 25 November 2022 as the wrap-up event of the days of culture.
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In May 2022, Ambassador Sharifzoda had a meeting at the ministry of foreign affairs of Turkmenistan. The CEO of the Turkmen national oil and gas company NAPECO Maksat Pirliyev also took part in the meeting.
The Tajik side proposed the setting up of a joint venture for the processing of the oil and petroleum products.
During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the establishment of a joint venture for the processing of oil and petroleum products.
It is an important project. If implemented, it will help contribute to the self-sufficiency in the hydrocarbon downstream products and provide stability at market level to the consumers.
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President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan visited Turkmenistan in August 2021 and had summit talks with President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
It was a landmark visit and Ambassador Sharifzoda and his team worked hard to make it a resounding success.
This visit resulted in the signing of 20 bilateral documents including the joint statement by both the presidents.
Two of these related to the transportation sector:
- Agreement between the Government of Turkmenistan and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan on cooperation in the field of railway transport
- Agreement between the Government of Turkmenistan and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan on the carriage and transit of goods and passengers
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The complications caused by the Covid-19 restrictions caused serious damage to the economies and economic relations of almost all the countries of the world.
The trade turnover between Turkmenistan and Tajikistan was more than USD 92 million before the Covid. It plummeted suddenly because of the disruptions in the supply chain and the inability to move the cargo smoothly across the borders.
However, Ambassador Sharifzoda has used all possible means to help bring the mutual trade turnover to pre-Covid levels. As a result, the trade volume in 2022 was USD 53 million, a gain of 2.4% over the previous year and rising fast toward full recovery.
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There is the possibility of starting direct flights between Ashgabat and Dushanbe. It will be greatly helpful for the people and the business community.
Ambassador Sharifzoda has had consultations with the authorities and some kind of decision may be reached in the foreseeable future.
To make the route profitable, it would be advisable for the Turkmen carrier to create the route Ashgabat-Mashhad-Dushanbe-Mashhad-Ashgabat. Similarly, the Tajik carrier can introduce the route Dushanbe-Ashgabat-Mashhad-Ashgabat-Dushanbe. This will ensure more and frequent passengers for the airlines.
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What we have mentioned here is just a sampling of the work done by Ambassador Sharifzoda and his team during the past six years and five months in Turkmenistan.
Woody Allen says, ’99 percent of life is showing up.’ — This is so very true for the work of a diplomat.
Ambassador Sharifzoda diligently participated in every event, every gathering. This, in itself, was a great contribution toward strengthening the relations between the two country.
On top of that, his sophisticated sense of humour, the sharp wit, and the capacity to put in long and hard work with very little rest, contributed to the success of his tenure in Turkmenistan.
In acknowledging the contribution of Sharifzoda, we are also underlining that the work of a diplomat, particularly the head of the mission, is not an easy job. It is rewarding, at least in self-satisfaction, but very challenging.
We wish Ambassador Farrukh Homiddin Sharifzoda all the good luck and success in his future work. /// nCa, 16 June 2023
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