Tajikistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Akram Karimi, said the recent decision of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to confer on the Kingdom the status of dialogue partner will add new momentum to the organization.

He was speaking as the Tajikistan Embassy in Riyadh celebrated the 30th anniversary of the country’s independence with an event for members of the Tajik community, and as Tajikistan prepared to host the two-day SCO heads of state summit, which begins in Dushanbe on Thursday

Tajikistan gained independence from the former Soviet Union on Sept. 9, 1991. Karimi said that the nation’s greatest achievement was ending the civil war that followed, achieving national unity, preserving the pillars and institutions of the state and preventing the country from collapsing.

The civil war began in 1992 and lasted five years, he said, during which a young and dedicated leader, President Emomali Rahmon, took the reins of leadership and worked to end the conflict. In the new millennium Tajikistan entered a development phase, he added, which has resulted in a number great achievements in all fields.

The ambassador said that his country’s relationship with Saudi Arabia is one of the results of the independence era, and the Kingdom was one of the first countries to recognize Tajikistan’s sovereignty when former Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal visited Dushanbe in February 1992 and signed an agreement to establish diplomatic relations.

Karimi said that the strong bonds of brotherhood between the leaders of the two countries represent an important basis for the distinguished bilateral relationship.

He praised the Kingdom’s leading role in development and social projects in Tajikistan through the work of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, the Saudi Fund for Development and the Islamic Development Bank, and said it has provided great support as his country faces the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He added: “With satisfaction, we can say that for nearly 30 years, we have been able to lay a solid base from which we can proceed today toward more effective relations that meet the aspirations of our two brotherly people.”

Tajikistan holds the presidency of the SCO this year, which is also the 20th anniversary of the organization’s founding. Karimi said he hopes that the Kingdom’s inclusion as a dialogue partner will add new momentum to the organization’s regional integrative process.