Menu

United States Institute of Peace

Home ▶ Events

Thirty Years of U.S.-Tajikistan Partnership: What’s Next?

A Look at Past Achievements and the Path Forward

Date: Thursday, April 14, 2022 / Time: 8:30am - 10:00am EDT

Center: Asia Center

Share This
Print the Page

February marks 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Republic of Tajikistan. Over those three decades, the U.S.-Tajik bilateral relationship has evolved and developed into a strong partnership on security, economic, energy and people-to-people cooperation that has made significant contributions to regional connectivity and energy issues. Tajikistan is also a member of the C5+1 diplomatic platform, which brings together the five republics of Central Asia and the United States to enhance regional cooperation and coordination on the shared goal of an independent, prosperous and secure Central Asia. In recognition of American support to Tajikistan, USAID recently opened a full mission in Tajikistan.  

Major global and regional developments over the past year — including the U.S withdrawal from Afghanistan — are factors in the path forward. While great bilateral progress has been made, Tajikistan’s economic growth has slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impact of these global and regional events will create additional challenges as Tajikistan aims to address its economic and development needs.

On April 14, USIP hosted a conversation that brought together current officials and leading experts to examine new opportunities and challenges during this highly fluid period in the region.

Speakers

Andrew Wilder, welcoming remarks 
Vice President, Asia Center, U.S. Institute of Peace 

Farhod Salim, keynote remarks
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan

Donald Lu, keynote remarks
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asia Affairs, U.S. State Department; Former U.S Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan

John M. Pommersheim
U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Tajikistan 

Hamralizoda Farrukh Mahmud
Tajikistan Ambassador to the United States 

Parviz Muhammadzoda 
Deputy Director, Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan

Zuhra Halimova 
Independent consultant, strategic advisor, Women in Digital Transformation (WINDT) 

Gavin Helf, moderator
Senior Expert, Central Asia, U.S. Institute of Peace 

Related Publications

What Does Further Expansion Mean for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization?

What Does Further Expansion Mean for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization?

Thursday, May 30, 2024

By: Bates Gill;  Carla Freeman, Ph.D.

Last week, foreign ministers from member-states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) gathered in Astana, Kazakhstan. The nine-member SCO — made up of China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — represents one of the largest regional organizations in the world. And with the SCO’s annual heads-of-state summit slated for early July, the ministers’ meeting offers an important glimpse into the group’s priorities going forward. USIP’s Bates Gill and Carla Freeman examine how regional security made its way to the top of the agenda, China’s evolving role in Central Asia and why SCO expansion has led to frustrations among member states.

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

China Looks to Fill a Void in Central Asia

China Looks to Fill a Void in Central Asia

Thursday, May 25, 2023

By: Carla Freeman, Ph.D.;  Gavin Helf, Ph.D.;  Alison McFarland

As the Group of Seven met at the end of last week in Hiroshima, Japan, China organized a summit with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, marking a new chapter in Beijing’s engagement with the region. Central Asian states are looking for a new partner to help ensure their own security against domestic rebellions, as Russia’s war in Ukraine has limited Moscow’s ability to fulfill a longstanding role as a guarantor of domestic stability in the region. While most of the summit’s public discussion focused on economic and trade issues, China noted that it would help Central Asia enhance it’s law enforcement and security capabilities, which aligns with Beijing’s intensifying campaign for “global security.”

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Tajikistan’s Peace Process: The Role of Track 2 Diplomacy and Lessons for Afghanistan

Tajikistan’s Peace Process: The Role of Track 2 Diplomacy and Lessons for Afghanistan

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

By: Parviz Mullojanov

The peace process that ended the Tajik civil war in the late 1990s successfully combined both official and civic channels of communication and negotiation from its start. This report argues that although the agreement and its implementation were far from perfect, the Tajik experience contains valuable lessons on power-sharing arrangements, reconciliation, reintegration, and demobilization for the architects of future peace processes, and provides important insights into the shortcomings of the 2018–21 peace process in neighboring Afghanistan.

Type: Special Report

Mediation, Negotiation & Dialogue;  Peace Processes

View All Publications