Four-day Tajik-Uzbek joint military exercises end today

Photo: The Tashkent Times

Four days of military exercises between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan today come to a close.

Despite a history of strained relations, tensions between the two Central Asian countries have thawed as of late, largely thanks to the election of the Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and his willingness to cooperate with his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rahmon. The exercises that took place this week were an opportunity for the two nations to practice joint anti-terror combat operations on their shared border.

With regional economic growth rates surpassing those of their neighbours, the Central Asian leaders see a unique opportunity to drive new international investment and create a level of regional stability they’ve talked about for decades. As foreign investment flows in, foreign firms have raised concerns about the security of the infrastructure they’re building for the development of the region’s vast energy and mining reserves. For their part, the Tajik and Uzbek leaders are looking to diversify their economies away from natural resources, but first they need to prove they can provide security for foreign investors wary about the safety of their financial commitments.

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