Tajikistan–Turkey relations explained

Tajik–Turkish relations (Tajik: Муносибатҳои Тоҷикистон бо Туркия; Turkish: Tacikistan-Türkiye ilişkileri) are friendly and cooperative and underlined with a legal basis of more than 30 treaties and protocols which have been signed between two countries since 1991.[1]

Country comparison

Tajikistan Turkey
Flag
State Emblem / National Emblem
Population9,537,64583,154,997
Area143,100 km2 (55,300 sq mi)783,356 km2 (302,455 sq mi)
Population density48.6/km2 (125.9/sq mi)105/km2 (271.9/sq mi)
CapitalDushanbe
GovernmentUnitary dominant-party presidential constitutional secular republicUnitary presidential constitutional republic
Current LeaderPresident Emomali Rahmon
Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Vice President Fuat Oktay
Official languages Turkish
Main religions96.7% Islam, 1.6% Christianity89.5% Islam, 8.9% non-religious, 1.6% other[2] [3] [4]
Ethnic groups79.8% Tajiks, 13.9% Uzbeks85% Turkish, 9% Kurdish 6% Others
Human Development Index (HDI)0.668 (medium)[5] — 125th0.820 (very high)[6] — 54th
GDP (PPP)$30.547 billion ($3,354 per capita)$2.464 trillion[7] ($29,326 per capita)

Modern relations

Turkey recognized the independence of Tajikistan on 16 December 1991 and established diplomatic relations on 29 January 1992. The Turkish Embassy in Dushanbe was opened on 4 August 1992 and the Tajik Embassy in Ankara was opened on 16 October 1995.

Turkey's relations with Tajikistan are considered within the framework of relations with other Central Asian republics but developed more slowly due to Tajikistan's internal war between 1992 and 1997. During this period the Turkish embassy in Dushanbe was the only diplomatic mission which remained open and the visit of Turkish Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel was the only high level visit to Tajikistan.

Tajik President Emomali Rahmon made a 19–22 January 2006 official visit to Turkey.

Turkish Presidential visit to Dushanbe

Turkish President Abdullah Gül made a 29 June 2009 official visit to Dushanbe where he met with Tajik President Rahmon to discuss bilateral relations,[8] with Gül reiterating the two countries common stance on “terrorism, extremist movements, illegal immigration, drug and arms smuggling, organised crime and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” before concentrating on Afghanistan (as he had done in his preceding visit to Kyrgyzstan) by stating, “Afghanistan’s stability and peace is very important for Central Asia and the rest of the world. Tajikistan, which shares a land border of 1,400 kilometres with Afghanistan, has always played a constructive role in this regard.”[9]

Group 24

The founder of the Tajik Group 24 opposition movement, Umarali Quvatov, was assassinated in Turkey in March 2015.[10] Turkey detained two members of Group 24, Suhrobi Zafar and Nasim Sharipov, but did not extradite them due to the Constitutional Court of Turkey ruling that they may face torture in Tajikistan.[10]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Turkey's Political Relations With Tajikistan. . 2009-06-01.
  2. Web site: Özkök . Ertuğrul . Turkey is no longer the country with 99% population is Muslim. 21 May 2019 .
  3. Web site: Faith survey from Optimar: 89% of population believes monotheism. 15 May 2019 . T24.com.tr . Turkish .
  4. Web site: Tengrism is also rising . odatv.com . . 9 April 2018 . 15 August 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190815144535/https://odatv.com/tengricilik-de-yukseliste-09041815.html . 15 August 2019.
  5. Book: Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene. 15 December 2020. United Nations Development Programme. 978-92-1-126442-5. 343–346. 16 December 2020.
  6. Web site: 2020 Human Development Report. 2020. 15 December 2020. United Nations Development Programme .
  7. Web site: International Monetary Fund, Report on selected countries. imf.org. 2017-06-24.
  8. News: 2009-05-22. Gül to visit Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan next week. Today’s Zaman.
  9. News: 2009-05-30. Turkey, Tajikistan to step up anti-terror cooperation. Today’s Zaman.
  10. News: Two Tajik Opposition Politicians Detained In Turkey, No Immediate Extradition . . March 23, 2018 .