France and Tajikistan

Political relations

An agreement of 8 December 2001 enabled the deployment at Dushanbe airport of an air detachment to support our operations in Afghanistan. This detachment, the Détair, officially left Douchanbe in late October 2014. Our diplomatic office became a fully-fledged Embassy following President Rakhmon’s visit to Paris in December 2002. Tajikistan opened an Embassy in Paris in September 2013.

Since 2016, our political dialogue has been structured around bilateral political consultations between foreign ministries, the second session of which was held in Dushanbe on 23 and 24 November 2017.

Visits

While visits are infrequent, Ministers of Defence have made stays in Tajikistan to visit the Détair, such as that of Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian on 18 July 2012.

Economic relations

Trade between France and Tajikistan reached €15.2 million in 2016 (+16.5%). There is a growing number of French companies in the country. Auchan opened the first hypermarket in Central Asia in Dushanbe in June 2016, in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Also present are Lafarge, Saint-Gobain, Itron France, Nutristar, which opened an animal feed plant, Coyne & Bellier (Tractebel Engie) in the hydroelectric field, and the consultancy Mazars (audit, advice, corporate services).

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

Most of our cultural, educational and linguistic cooperation is made possible by the financing of the Bactria Cultural Centre, which was founded and managed by French NGO Acted, or as regards healthcare by a partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation.

Other cooperation

Tajikistan is the first country in the region with which France has signed an internal security cooperation agreement, in relation to EU and OSCE programmes.

^{Updated: 19 December 2017}