Lussemburgo – Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Benedetto Della Vedova and Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Sirojidin Aslov co-chaired the fourth meeting of EU Cooperation Council with Tajikistan today in Luxembourg within the framework of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The meeting brought relations between the EU and that Central Asian nation to a new level of cooperation with the signing by Minister Aslov of a multi-year cooperation programme. “We underscored the importance of the country’s continued efforts in the areas of democracy and human rights, with special regard to freedom of the press and internet”, Della Vedova asserted. “We also discussed the need to ensure that hydro-electrical infrastructure projects are properly included within an approved regional framework. Tajikistan”, Della Vedova concluded, “has a very important regional role, not least vis à vis Afghanistan, and the EU supports its efforts to control illegal trafficking and terrorism”. (9colonne)
