Relations of Tajikistan with India

The Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of India established diplomatic relations on August 28, 1992.

In 1993, the Republic of India appointed its first Ambassador to the Republic of Tajikistan (with residence in Tashkent).

In 1994, the Republic of India opened its Embassy in Dushanbe. In 2003 the Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in New Delhi started functioning.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Republic of India is Mr. Lukmon Bobokalonzoda (since 20.11.2020).

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to the Republic of Tajikistan is Mr. Viraj Singh (since 01.08.2019).

Tajikistan and India celebrated 31 years of diplomatic relations on 28 August 2023.

Bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and India has been dynamically developing thanks to intense efforts of parties in the political, trade, economic, investment, social and medical, cultural and humanitarian, military, security and other areas of mutual interest.

Over the 31 years of the relationship between the two countries, President of the Republic of Tajikistan paid state, official and working visits to the Republic of India (1993, 1995, 2001, 2006, 2012 and 2016).

The President of the Republic of India paid official and working visits to Tajikistan (6-8 September 2009 and 7-9 October 2018).

The Prime Minister of the Republic of India paid official and working visits to Tajikistan (2003 and 2015).

Official and working visits of Foreign Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Republic of India took place on 12-14 May 2015 and 17-20 December 2021.

Working visits of Foreign Minister of the Republic of India to the Republic of Tajikistan were held on 11-12 September 2014, 11-12 October 2018 and 14-15 June 2019.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of India Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on September 10, 2020 (within the framework of the SCO meeting in Moscow), March 31, 2021 (on the sidelines of the Ninth Conference of Foreign Ministers of the participating countries of the “Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process” in Dushanbe), on July 28, 2022 (in the margins of the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the SCO Member States in Tashkent) and on May 5, 2023 (within the framework of the SCO in Panaji).

So far, four rounds of political consultations between the ministries of foreign affairs of Tajikistan and India have been held in Dushanbe and New Delhi. During the fourth round of political consultations with the participation of the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan Nizomiddin Zohidi and the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of India Gitesh Sharma (New Delhi, December 19, 2018), the parties reviewed the current state of relations between the two countries and expressed satisfaction with the content of the Tajik-Indian cooperation.

The following mechanisms of interaction function between the two countries: Strategic Consultations of the Secretaries of the Security Councils of Tajikistan and India, Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism, Joint Working Group on Defense Cooperation, Joint Working Group on the Peaceful Use of Space Technologies for Development, Joint Working Group on Energy, Consular Consultations.

October 17, 2023 A meeting of the Secretaries of the Security Council of the countries participating in the India-Central Asia Dialogue took place in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan.

In order to expand cooperation and inter-parliamentary contacts, Friendship Group was established between the Majlisi namoyandagon Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Lok Sabha (House of the People) of the Parliament of the Republic of India by a resolution of the Council of the Majlisi namoyandagon Majlisi Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan dated September 2, 2020.

Since 2019, a format of regional multilateral cooperation – “Central Asia-India” Dialogue has been operating at the level of foreign ministers.

On December 19, 2021, in New Delhi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan S.Muhriddin took part in the third meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of “India-Central Asia” Dialogue. He emphasized the importance of realizing the huge potential for effective economic development and attracting investment to the region. With an emphasis on the importance of strengthening the activities of the Dialogue, the Tajik minister called for the promotion of the process of implementing large projects in the development of infrastructure, transport, green economy, digitalization and other areas of mutual interest in order to expand export opportunities.

On January 27, 2022, the Founder of Peace and National Unity – Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, took part and spoke at the First Summit of the Heads of State of "Central Asia-India", which was held in the format of video conference.

The Summit was chaired by Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi. The participants of the event exchanged views on the current state and prospects for the development of cooperation relations between the countries of Central Asia and India. It should be noted that the Summit was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries of Central Asia and India.

The legal-treaty framework of bilateral relations between the two countries includes more than 73 interstate, intergovernmental and sectorial agreements and MOUs on cooperation in the fields of politics, diplomacy, economy, commerce, investments, scientific-technical cooperation, agriculture, industry, energy, banking, customs and tax, textiles, social and labor relations, medicine and healthcare, culture, arts and crafts, education, science and technologies, tourism, sports, environmental protection and management of natural disaster risks, media, television and radio, security, military and defense, air communication, etc.

The development of trade and economic cooperation with India is one of the priority areas of bilateral relations.

On the basis of the relevant intergovernmental agreement of the parties dated December 12, 1995, the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, which is considered a key mechanism for the development of bilateral economic cooperation, functions between the two countries. The Commission has so far held 11 meetings. The last meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission was held in New Delhi on February 24-25, 2020.

In 2021, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to 122 million 607 thousand US dollars, which is 308.8% more compared to the same period in 2020.

Meat products, coffee, tea, medicines, jewelry, medical equipment and hosiery are mainly imported from India to Tajikistan. Healing herbs and dried fruits are Tajikistan's export products to India.

Currently, more than 57 Indian companies operate in Tajikistan, and 1,083 Indian medicines and medical products are registered in the state register of the country.

20.11.2023