Joint press point with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and President Emomali Rahmon of the Republic of Tajikistan

Mr. President, it is a pleasure to welcome you back to NATO Headquarters.

Tajikistan is a valuable partner and you have been a trusted partner for NATO for over a decade. Our meeting today reflects our shared interest in furthering this relationship.

You were the first country in Central Asia with whom we signed a transit agreement for our ISAF mission. We greatly appreciate the support you have given to ISAF nations in granting over-flight rights and the use of Dushanbe Airport.

We look to deepen our dialogue with you on Afghanistan. NATO and Tajikistan share a common interest in a stable and secure Afghanistan. We are grateful for Tajikistan’s political and practical support to our ISAF mission.

I count on your continued support as we prepare to end our combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2014. And as we stand up a new mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan forces after that date.

We cooperate effectively in the area of counter-narcotics through a training project set up by the NATO-Russia Council. The project has trained over 2.500 counter-narcotics personnel from across the region, including over 300 officers from Tajikistan. And we look to expand this project in the years ahead.

We also appreciate the new Individual Partnership Cooperation Programme which we agreed last year. This Partnership programme also includes a dialogue on human rights issues. This programme aims to build cooperation in several areas including the fight against terrorism, military education and training and democratic control over the armed forces.

Preparations are also under way to start a project to help you dispose ammunition stocks near the Afghan border.

So we already cooperating in many areas and I am convinced there is scope to expand this cooperation in the years ahead.