Krishna to pay a two-day visit to Tajikistan from Monday

New Delhi, July 1 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will leave for Tajikistan on Monday on a two-day visit.

During his visit, he will hold talks with the Tajik leadership and attend a meeting of Indian heads of mission of eleven countries in the strategic Eurasian region.

Krishna will address Indian envoys to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

This will be the sixth regional meeting of Heads of Mission that Krishna would be addressing.

Krishna's visit to Tajik capital Dushanbe is aimed at accelerating India's strategic, economic and energy ties in the region.

Krishna is likely to discuss a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, including trade, economy, security and terrorism.

Tajikistan is a strategically located Central Asian country and has borders with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China.

Ties between India and Tajikistan deepened in the late 1990s, when they came closer following rise of Taliban in Afghanistan. Both countries have been active in promoting counter-terrorism and defence cooperation.

India is also in talks with Tajikistan to set up a military hospital even as it maintains an air base in Ayni there, the country's only such facility overseas. (ANI)