ANKARA / DUSHANBE

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with Turkish business people in Tajikistan's capital on Sunday.

Cavusoglu, who is in Dushanbe on a three-day official visit, said at the meeting that the vibrant Turkish business community strengthens Ankara's relations with Tajikistan.

"In Dushanbe, we first evaluated the cooperation opportunities with our businesspeople, who make significant contributions to our relations with Tajikistan," he said on Twitter.

The foreign minister recalled that he recently visited Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to further strengthen relations with Central Asian and Turkic nations. He also met with his Kazakh counterpart Mukhtar Tleuberdi.

Turkey is among the top three countries which assisted Tajikistan during the pandemic, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Between 2009 and 2019, Turkey made investments to the tune of $200 million in Tajikistan.

The bilateral trade volume was $322 million in 2020.

Moreover, Turkish contractors have undertaken 52 projects worth $660 million in the country.

“In friendly and brotherly #Tajikistan to discuss bilateral relations and attend 9th Ministerial Conference of the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process,” Cavusoglu said earlier in a tweet.

Earlier in the day, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Cavusoglu will meet with his Tajik counterpart Sirojiddin Muhriddin as well as Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon.

“All aspects of bilateral relations will be discussed and views will be exchanged on regional and international developments during the meetings,” the statement said.

Cavusoglu will also attend the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process meeting, being co-hosted by Tajikistan and Afghanistan, on Tuesday, the statement added.

The regional initiative was officially launched at a conference in Istanbul on Nov. 2, 2011.