Kerry arrives in Dushanbe for talks with Tajik president and foreign minister
DUSHANBE. Nov 3 (Interfax) - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Tajikistan on Tuesday morning for an official visit.
Tajik Foreign Minister Sirodjidin Aslov greeted Kerry at Dushanbe's international airport, an Interfax correspondent has reported.
Afterwards, the official motorcade left the airport and headed to the Palace of Nations, which will host a meeting between Kerry and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
A Tajik Foreign Ministry source, for his part, said that "the U.S. secretary of state will also hold negotiations with Aslov and discuss a number of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest."
It is U.S. Secretary of State Kerry's first visit to Central Asia and Tajikistan, in particular.
Kerry's predecessor at this post, Hillary Clinton, traveled to Tajikistan in October 2011. During her visit, Clinton held talks with high-ranking Tajik officials and civil society representatives.
The United States and Tajikistan established diplomatic relations in February 1992. The U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe has said that in the past 23 years, the U.S. has provided Tajikistan with assistance worth over $1 billion.