Official visit of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev to Tajikistan began this morning with a welcoming ceremony at the Qasri Millat (Palace of the Nation).

To welcome the distinguished guest the square in front of Palace of Naton was decorated with the National Flags of the two countries, guard of honor and the orchestra of wind instruments.

Distinguished guest - President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev was sincerely greeted by the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon who invited him to the honorary tribune.

The official welcoming ceremony continued with a meeting of a joint passageway of the Head of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev before the guard of honor, the performance of National Anthems of the two countries, a tribute of the high-ranking guest to the National Flag of Tajikistan, greeting to the officers and soldiers of the Honour Guard, and the introduction of the official delegations of the two countries as well as the diplomatic corps accredited in Tajikistan. The official ceremony ended with the passage of the Guard of Honour before the two Heads of state.

The issues related to the development of friendly relations and expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation were discussed at the first meeting of the heads of the two states in the narrow format.

Emomali Rahmon and Nursultan Nazarbayev expressed their satisfaction with the possibility of enhancement of relations between Tajikistan and Kazakhstan to the level of strategic partnership.

The President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon at the beginning of the conversation said: "We attach immense importance to your visit to Tajikistan. I am convinced that this visit, its content and scope is able to open a new page in relations of Tajikistan and Kazakhstan".

Nursultan Nazarbayev said that "Over the years of independence between Kazakhstan and Tajikistan did not exist and there is no political and other problems. We are very interested in stability and peace in Tajikistan, as it is for us a very important partner. We are ready to fully support the economic development of Tajikistan".

During the meeting in a narrow format and official talks held with the participation of official delegations of the two countries the sides discussed issues of expansion of military-political, trade-economic, scientific-technical, cultural and humanitarian ties.

In connection with the regulation of labor migration, protection of the rights and interests of migrant workers it was highlighted the need to create more favorable legal conditions for their temporary stay.

Particular attention was paid to the current situation in Afghanistan, Middle East, and its negative impact on the Central Asian region. In this regard, the sides emphasized the need to strengthen joint bilateral and multilateral cooperation of Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.

Constructive discussion took place on the agenda of the next summit of the Organization of the Collective Security Treaty, which will be held tomorrow in Dushanbe.

Six new cooperation documents were signed based on the results of official meetings and negotiations between Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, including:

- Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on cooperation in the sphere of technical protection of information;

- Protocol on making amendments and additions to the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on labor activity and protection of the rights of migrant workers, nationals of the Republic of Tajikistan temporarily working in Kazakhstan and protecting the rights of migrant workers, nationals of the Republic of Kazakhstan temporarily working in the territory of the Republic Tajikistan, dated May 4, 2006;

- Protocol on making amendments and additions to the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on cooperation in the sphere of education on 13 June 2000;

- The Agreement between the Committee for Youth, Sports and Tourism under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan on cooperation in the sphere of culture and sport;

- The program of cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2016-2017;

- The Treaty on Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan signed by the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev.

During the press conference, the two leaders expressed satisfaction with the results of meetings and negotiations, and praised the prospects of friendly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, especially in connection with the announcement of the strategic partnership of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.