New Dushanbe-Tehran Union: Diplomatic Support in Exchange for Investment?
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New Dushanbe-Tehran Union: Diplomatic Support in Exchange for Investment? Tajikistan hopes to receive financial dividends from Iran, Tehran is counting on diplomatic support from Dushanbe, experts say. Follow us on LinkedIn Русский Тоҷикӣ Presidents Hassan Rouhani and Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe. Photo: news.tj “Welcome to your second homeland”, President Emomali Rahmon told his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani. In response, the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran said that in fact he feels at home in Dushanbe. Abdujabbor Rahmonzoda, Assistant to the President of Tajikistan on social development New Dushanbe-Tehran Union: Diplomatic Support in Exchange for Investment? and public relations spoke on this issue in an interview with Radio Ozodi. “Tajikistan advocates economic and cultural cooperation with Iran. All issues of relations development between our countries will be discussed at the meeting of the leaders of the two states”, Rahmonzoda emphasized. In early June, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, officially visited Tehran where he met with President Rouhani. As Iranian media reported, the Iranian President and the Tajik Minister discussed the issue of Tajikistan’s entry to the free port of Chabahar in southern Iran. “Iran can become the safest and most profitable transit corridor for Tajikistan’s goods”, as local news agencies quoted Rouhani. The Contradictive History of Relations Between Dushanbe and Tehran In the past, Iran was a close partner of Tajikistan. This country was the first to recognize the independence of the Republic of Tajikistan in 1991 and established diplomatic relations. During the civil war in Tajikistan, Tehran was a city where one of the rounds of inter-Tajik peace talks took place. One of the rounds of inter-Tajik talks was held in Tehran. Photo: ozodi.org New Dushanbe-Tehran Union: Diplomatic Support in Exchange for Investment? By Iran’s aid, two large and significant projects were implemented in Tajikistan: the construction of the Istiqlol tunnel and the Sangtuda-2 hydropower station. In addition, since the beginning of the civil war, the Assistance Committee “Imdod” named after Imam Khomeini has provided humanitarian assistance to the people of Tajikistan. Both states also cooperated closely on the international stage. Tajik-Iranian relations reached the peak under the President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Perhaps, the highest peak of cooperation was the joint celebration of Navruz in Dushanbe in 2012. However, with the new president Hassan Rouhani rising to power in 2013 in Iran, the situation began to change. In fact, relations between Dushanbe and Tehran became aggravated in early 2014 due to the case of Iranian businessman Bobak Zanjoni, who was related to the former President Ahmadinejad’s team, according to media reports. The US accused Zanjoni of selling Iranian oil, bypassing US sanctions. In 2013, the Tajik media called Zanjoni a friend of Tajik officials. The President Emomali Rahmon himself and the speaker of the Majlisi Milli Mahmadsaid Ubaydulloyev attended the opening ceremony of the “Asia Express” company’s terminal, owned then by Zanjoni. Spring 2013, the Tajik parliament provided a number of tax benefits to the Kontgroup Tajikistan Company, which was owned by Zanjoni. The new president, Hassan Rouhani, began to revise the economic policy of his predecessor. In Iran, Bobak Zanjoni was accused of stealing 2.54 billion euros, which he was obliged to return after the oil sale. In response, Zanjoni announced that he had transferred 2.6 billion USD from the Iranian oil sale from Dushanbe to Tehran. According to him, he made a transfer through the National Bank of Dushanbe and he even Tajik-Iranian relations reached a peak under President Mahmoud has a corresponding document. The National Ahmadinejad. Photo: dw.com Bank of the Republic of Tajikistan refuted Zanjoni’s words, and the mentioned document was announced false. New Dushanbe-Tehran Union: Diplomatic Support in Exchange for Investment? Several rounds of talks between Iran and Tajikistan over the missing funds did not have effect. Iranian officials said that Zanjoni’s property and companies in Tajikistan are appropriated by officials. In Dushanbe, this information was refuted. Since the beginning of 2014 relations began to deteriorate rapidly. During the year, the Assistance Committee “Imdod” named after Khomeini and several Iranian cultural centers were closed. The head of the Council of Ulemas of Tajikistan, Saidmukarram Abdulkodirzoda, has repeatedly criticized the Twelvers (majority of Iranians adhere to this Islam branch). The visit of Muhiddin Kabiri, the leader of the banned Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, to Tehran in December 2015 became a catalyst for the breach. Following that, the Tajik government launched a propaganda campaign against Iran, accusing it of supporting terrorism. At the same time, it would be wrong to reduce all the relationship problems to financial issues. Ideology had no less importance. Dushanbe always emphasized the “secularism” of regime and tried to keep distance from the Islamic Republic authorities. External forces, including the Saudi authorities played a certain role in these events. However, the importance of this factor should not be exaggerated. Most likely, the cause of the Tajik-Iranian relations crisis was a complex of many factors that coincided at some point. Finance, Elections, Transit of Goods, Cooperation in Diplomacy and Banking The motives for the new rapprochement can be understood in the light of the intensified problems of the two countries. For Tajikistan, the main problem is the lack of finance. For example, there is a big problem of financing the national project of the Rogun HPP. For Iran, in the setting of the conflict with the West, especially with the United States, it is extremely important to receive international support. New Dushanbe-Tehran Union: Diplomatic Support in Exchange for Investment? Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Bishkek. Photo: kremlin.ru In particular, according to some experts, Tehran is seeking support from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), of which Tajikistan is a member, while Iran is an observer. At the same time, it was Tajikistan that opposed joining the SCO. As Tajik political scientist Rashid Abdullo told CABAR.asia, the key countries of this organization, Russia and China, do not welcome the contradictions between the SCO members and “therefore, improving relations between Iran and Tajikistan is their interest”. However, at the SCO meeting on June 14 in Bishkek, the issue of Iran’s entry to this organization was not even considered. Also, during the visit of President Rouhani to Dushanbe, no certain agreements were reached between the two countries. In this regard, some experts express the opinion that the renewal of relations between the two countries is only on the initial stage and for the parties it is most important to achieve mutual trust now. “The main issue is the restoration of trust between the authorities of the two countries. If this most important condition is achieved, then we will witness good outcomes of New Dushanbe-Tehran Union: Diplomatic Support in Exchange for Investment? cooperation in the near future”, Tajik expert Irshod Sulaymoni told CABAR.asia. Tajikistan, according to experts, is counting on Iranian investments and on Iranian goods, which are necessary to saturate the local market. Dushanbe also plans to gain access to Iranian ports for the cotton and aluminum export. It is possible that the Tajik authorities also hope that Tehran will help solving problems with the transit of goods to the country through Turkmenistan. Iran might expect that cooperation with Dushanbe in the banking sector will help them overcome the barriers established by the US sanctions. At the same time, according to experts, for the Tajik authorities the most important issue is the presidential election, which is scheduled for the end of 2020. In this regard, Iran’s position during the power transit is of great importance for Dushanbe. It should be noted that, according to the Akhbor website, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan first included a point stating that Iran would stop supporting the IRPT in a joint declaration with Iranian colleagues, and then removed it from the document. Irshod Sulaymoni believes that the short-term interests of some power groups should not prevail over the long-term Irshod Sulaymoni. Photo: catoday.org interests of the country. “The powers competition at the global and regional levels and the current geopolitical environment shows that Iran in the long term will become one of the main sources of changes. Therefore, the most of these statements confirm the necessity for Tajikistan to stay with Iran, and for Iran to stay with Tajikistan”, said Sulaymoni. Expert: This Is Only About the Normalization of Relations! The well-known Tajik political scientist Parviz Mullojanov believes that now we can only speak “about the normalization of Tajik-Iranian relations, about their return to the pre-crisis state”. He stated this answering CABAR.asia questions. CABAR.asia. During many years, Iran has maintained close relations with Tajikistan. Why a breach happened in 2014? Was it due to Zanjoni case, the new New Dushanbe-Tehran Union: Diplomatic Support in Exchange for Investment? “pro-Western course” of President Rouhani, ideological contradictions, Saudi Arabia’s influence? Or was there a complex of reasons? Indeed, Iran and Tajikistan