DUSHANBE: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was accorded a red-carpet welcome as he arrived in the Tajik capital on a two-day official visit on Wednesday.
Tajik Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda received Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his delegation at the Dushanbe Airport. Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi accompanied the prime minister.
A red carpet was rolled out for the prime minister. Two children presented bouquets to him and a contingent of static guards presented him salute. Several arrays of children attired in colourful traditional dresses lined up at the airport to greet the visiting dignitary.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to Tajikistan Tariq Soomro, Tajik Ambassador Jononov Sherali and senior government officials were also present. Prime Minister Nawaz will attend the launching ceremony of the Central Asia-South Asia 1000 (CASA-1000) project on Thursday.
The CASA-1000 project will import electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan via Afghanistan and is aimed at helping Pakistan get cheaper and clean energy to minimise its electricity shortage. The agreements on CASA-1000 have already been signed to implement the project and the process of laying the transmission line is underway.
Tajikistan is the world’s third largest producer of hydroelectric power after the United States and Russia. Hydroelectric generation accounts for 76 percent of the total energy output of the country. The initial plan is to transmit power in the range of 1,000 to 1,300 megawatts from the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The major share of the exported energy will be consumed by Pakistan while approximately 300MW will be used by Afghanistan.
