On March 15, 2022 Director of the Center for Strategic Research under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Usmonzoda Khairidin Usmon took part in the expert event «NATO, Russia and Central Asian states against the backdrop of the new geopolitical reality», organized by the Institute for Central Asian Studies (Republic of Tatarstan, Russia) and the Institute of International Relations of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University.
Renowned experts from different countries, including Tajikistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, spoke at this event.
In his speech, Usmonzoda Khairidin Usmon noted that the geography of instability in our region tends to expand, and therefore the intensity of the response to these events is increasing, despite the differences in the degree of involvement in these processes.
The greatest concern and anxiety in the public consciousness of the population of the Republic of Tajikistan in the light of the events taking place in the region is the state of protection of the Tajik-Afghan border. Such concern of Tajikistan about security in this direction stems from the fact that today there is an absolutely new reality in Afghanistan and the Central Asian states have different approaches to build their attitude to this political system.
Usmonzoda Khairidin Usmon mentioned again that the position of the Republic of Tajikistan in relation to the Taliban regime is more stable — pragmatic in nature, and it is based on the fact that the goals of strengthening security should be more important than some economic benefits. This means that it is possible to put up with some economic costs for a while, which increase many times over as political tensions escalate.
Tajikistan, because of its historical experience, takes very seriously the challenges posed by Islamist ideology, which uses violent methods of political struggle, because it is a threat to all secular regimes in Central Asia.
The Director of the Center noted that Tajikistan is interested in finding effective preventive measures to contain the threats emanating from Afghanistan along with the implementation of the humanitarian mission. Usmonzoda Khairidin reminded the participants of the event the initiative of the Founder of Peace and National Unity — the Leader of the nation, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, distinguished Emomali Rahmon to create around Afghanistan a «security belt», which is not aimed at isolation of this country, but on the contrary suggests:
— minimizing the threat of infiltration and creation of extremist cells in the border states of Central Asia under the guise of refugees;
— operative exchange of information among Central Asian states bordering on the drug trafficking situation and attempts to export drugs;
— elaboration of effective mechanisms to ensure reliable protection of CSTO borders.
According to Kh.U. Usmonzoda, the clash of interests of the centers of power around the Ukrainian issue is increasingly worrying for Tajik society. The consequences of such actions will have a direct bearing on the further alignment of the guidelines of interaction between the countries of the region and the Russian Federation within the framework of various regional political and economic structures.
At the end of his speech, the director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan noted that the great potential for cooperation that exists in the CIS region will provide an opportunity to find effective ways to solve these difficulties together.
