Information on the participation of the Republic of Tajikistan in the CSTO

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is a regional international organization with a military-political direction, which was created on October 7, 2002, based on the Collective Security Treaty (CST), signed on May 15, 1992.

The current member-states of the organization are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan.

The CSTO is a military-political organization with a defensive nature, open to the entry of new members committed to its goals and principles. The organization operates based on strict respect for independence, voluntary participation, equality of rights and obligations of member states, and non-interference in internal affairs, which are within the national jurisdiction of member states.

The main objectives and principles of the Organization are the strengthening of peace and international and regional security and stability, and the collective defense of the independence, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of the member states, which are achieved by primarily political means of the member-states. The member-states coordinate and harmonize their foreign policy positions on international and regional security problems, using, primarily, consultation mechanisms. The member-states unite their efforts in the fight against international terrorism, religious extremism, illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, weapons, transnational organized crime, illegal migration, and other threats to the security of the member-states.

The CSTO, per the Charter of the Organization, has the following structure:

- Collective Security Council (CSC) – the supreme body, which includes the heads of the member-states. The Council considers the fundamental issues of Organization activity makes the decisions aimed at achieving its goals and objectives, and ensures coordination and joint activities of member states to achieve these goals.

Consultative and executive bodies:

- The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (CMFA) – the consultative and executive body for the coordination of the cooperation between member states in the field of foreign policy;

- The Council of Ministers of Defense (CMD) – the consultative and executive body for the coordination of military policy, military construction and
military-technical cooperation between the member-states.

- The Committee of Secretaries of the Security Councils (CSSC) – the consultative and executive body for the coordination of the cooperation between member-states in their national security.

- The Parliamentary Assembly –  is a body of inter-parliamentary cooperation of the Organization, which in various forms considers issues of the CSTO’s activities, the situation in the Organization’s area of responsibility, the implementation of decisions of its bodies and the tasks of their legal support, discusses the practice of ratifying international treaties concluded within the CSTO.

- The Permanent Council – is a regularly meeting body that deals with issues of coordinating the interaction of member states in the implementation of decisions taken by the CSTO bodies in the period between sessions of the Collective Security Council. It consists of permanent representatives appointed by member states according to their national procedures.

- The Secretariat of the Organization – the permanent working body, headed by the Secretary General of the Organization and created to provide organized, informational, analytical, and advisory support for the activities of the Organization.

- The CSTO Joint Headquarters – the permanent working body of the Organization and the Council of Defense Ministers of the CSTO, which is responsible for the preparation of proposals and implementation of solutions for the military component of the CSTO.

Along with permanent bodies, subsidiary bodies can be created on a permanent or temporary basis to solve the problems facing the Organization.

It is worth noting that on December 2, 2004, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution granting the Collective Security Treaty Organization observer status in the UN General Assembly.

The Republic of Tajikistan considers expanding interaction with its partners in strengthening national and state security as one of the priorities of its foreign policy and considers its membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization to meet national interests. The activities of the Republic of Tajikistan within the framework of this Organization are aimed at creating effective mechanisms to counter the threats of the modern world. In this context, the country's membership in the Organization is considered as one of the important factors in ensuring the country's security and maintaining stability in the region.

As a founding state of the CSTO, the Republic of Tajikistan has made a significant contribution to the development and maintenance of collective security in the CSTO area of responsibility throughout the history of the Organization.

  It should be noted that Tajikistan also chaired the CSTO in 2003, 2007, 2015, and 2021.

It should be noted that within the framework of the chairmanship of Tajikistan, the Concept of the chairmanship of the Republic of Tajikistan in the Collective Security Treaty Organization for 2020-2021 was developed and approved by the President of the country.

In 2022, the CSTO celebrated two anniversaries: the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Collective Security Treaty and the 20th anniversary of the creation of the CSTO.

The Republic of Tajikistan considers the issues of intensifying the process of military-political integration of member states and coordinating their capabilities, improving military policy, and further developing military-technical cooperation of member states as the primary and most important tasks of its activities in the CSTO. Much attention is paid to the constructive development of cooperation between the CSTO and the UN, OSCE, SCO, and CIS.

For the Republic of Tajikistan, cooperation within the CSTO in the direction of Afghanistan has a special place. The Working Group on Afghanistan under the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CSTO regularly meets and proposes ideas for countering the challenges and threats from Afghanistan.

In addition, on November 28, 2024, following the CSTO Collective Security Council meeting, the heads of state of the Organization approved the Interstate CSTO Program on strengthening the Tajik-Afghan border. The main goal of this program is to assist in strengthening the Tajik-Afghan border. The implementation of the Targeted Program is planned for 5 years (until 2030) and is divided into three stages. The implementation of the Program will be a significant achievement in Tajikistan's participation in the CSTO and will reduce the range of threats from the southern direction.

09.04.2025