THE Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan in the State of Kuwait is honored to express its sincere gratitude and appreciation to HH Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and HH Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah for their continuous support for cooperation relations between Tajikistan and the Kuwait given the good relations between the two brotherly countries based on the common spiritual and cultural commonalities between the Tajik and Kuwait peoples, and the bonds of brotherhood between His Excellency President Emomali Rahmon, the Leader of the Nation, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan and his brother HH Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The Embassy also thanks the Government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kuwait for providing all forms of support and for ensuring conducive conditions for the Embassy to carry out its tasks in the best way for the benefit of strengthening relations between the two brotherly countries.

Thanks and appreciation to all of you, ladies and gentlemen, representatives of the media, activists of social networks, airlines and tourism, for your distinguished presence in this meeting.

The links between the Tajik and Kuwait peoples, as I mentioned above, are deeply rooted in history. However, the modern relations between Tajikistan and the Kuwait are the product of independence.

Tajikistan regards the State of Kuwait as its most important partner at the international and regional levels, and is keen to strengthen cooperation with it at all levels and areas of common interest.

The government of the Republic of Tajikistan has recently introduced entry visa exemption for citizens of 52 countries, including the State of Kuwait by its resolution issued on October 26, 2021, which became effective on January 1, 2022.

This initiative is the first of its kind since Tajikistan gained its independence, as for the first-time nationals of countries outside the CIS or the former Soviet Union are exempted from visa.

The Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, by its aforementioned decision, included the State of Kuwait into the list of the countries, whose nationals enter the Republic of Tajikistan without the need for a prior visa, given the dynamically bolstering positive relations between the Republic of Tajikistan and the State of Kuwait as well the Tajik government’s eagerness to strengthen and develop cooperation relations with the Kuwait in all areas of common interest.

This decision enables all Kuwait citizens to travel to Tajikistan without a prior visa (neither cardboard nor paper, nor upon arrival at the airport) as of January 1, 2022 and to reside in the country for a maximum period of thirty days. In case the visitors decide to stay longer than the indicated period, they can extend their visas by applying to relevant authorities.

Tajikistan’s initiative on visa waiver for the Kuwait brothers would contribute to the influx of tourists, visitors and investors from the Kuwait to Tajikistan. Having announced this wise and important step, we look forward to the pivotal role of the authorities and departments in charge of business, trade, investment and tourism to take care of Tajikistan as a promising destination for them.

We also look forward to positive steps and initiatives from the airlines of the two countries to launch regular direct flights between the cities of the two countries. Tajikistan is an attractive tourism destination. Thanks to its favourable climate, picturesque nature, mountains and towering peaks, historical and cultural sites, in addition to its potential for eco, medical and sports tourism, Tajikistan will become a promising destination for Arab visitors, especially Kuwait and Gulf tourists, because it is a Muslim country, and shares many commonalities including but not limited to spiritual, cultural and civilization values with the Arabs. It is worth noting that, in recent years, the government of Tajikistan has paid great attention to the development of tourism in the country, and respectively announced the years of 2018-2021 as the period of development of rural areas, tourism and folk crafts, which has contributed to making remarkable achievements in the development of tourism in the country.

Today, Tajikistan is a country promising and attractive for foreign investments. It has ensured transparent and modern legal system encouraging and protecting investment, and offering a large number of guarantees, incentives and privileges. In addition, the government of Tajikistan has adopted its revised Tax Code in 2021 granting significant tax exemptions to foreign investors who enter the country’s vital sectors with their investments.

There are several areas that Tajikistan gives priority to in its economic and social development process, as well as the development of its investment market in order to achieve the plans and objectives contained in its2030 National Development Strategy. Tajikistan considers Kuwait an important partner at the international and regional levels, and is keen to strengthen cooperation with it at all levels, including economic, commercial, investment and tourism cooperation. In this context, the Republic of Tajikistan will host the next session of the Joint Committee on Trade, Economic and Technical Issues in Dushanbe, the capital.

On the sidelines of this session, a businessmen forum will be held with the participation of investment, economic and trade departments from both parties. We also have a plan to organize an exhibition of agricultural products in Tajikistan in the State of Kuwait. Given the great interest by the State of Kuwait to building a strong and competitive economy by improving the investment environment at home and abroad, as well as the developments witnessed by the Republic of Tajikistan in terms of conducive climate to attract and encourage investments, Tajikistan looks forward to strengthening and revitalizing investment cooperation in the fields of industry and modern technologies, agriculture, energy, transport, tourism and articles.

The development and diversification of industries is one of the most important strategic goals of Tajikistan. President of Tajikistan recently declared the years 2022-2026 as the “Period of Industrial Development”. Tajikistan has abundant water resources accounting for 60 percent of the water resources in the Central Asian region. The electricity generated from hydropower makes 98 percent of the total energy produced in our country, which ranks the country among the lead states of the world in terms of the share of “green energy” and the development of green economy.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan H.E. Zubaydullo Zubaydzoda