Ties Warm Between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan

By Noah Clarke

Uzbekistan and Tajikistan held their first joint military exercises on September 25, 2018, signaling a gradual warming of ties between the two states. In March of 2018, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made an official state visit to Tajikistan, beginning a series of official state visits between the two states. This eventually culminated in Tajik President Emomali Rahmon being the first Tajik President to visit Uzbekistan since the two achieved independence in the aftermath of the Cold War, with this historic event having occurred on August 17 and 18 of 2018.

The two states have held animosities for decades due to poorly delineated borders, nationalist sentiments, and a poor personal relationship between President Rahmon and Uzbekistan’s previous president, Islam Karimov, who passed away in September 2016.

As a sign of growing trust and dependence between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, the two states held military exercises, titled Unbreakable Fraternity, with roughly 600 Uzbek soldiers joining 17,000 Tajik soldiers. The main reason for these exercises, alongside showing the growing unity between the Uzbeks and Tajiks, is to protect shared security concerns. Since there are no clear signs that the War in Afghanistan is going to end soon, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are increasingly worried about Islamic militancy spreading further into Central Asia. In addition to security threats posed by the spread of terrorist organizations, drug trafficking has also become an issue, with opium primarily being smuggled. Although specific data isn’t provided, it is known that traffickers use the “northern route” through Tajikistan in order to sell this opium on the black market in Central Asia.

To show the commitment to improved relations between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Uzbek Minister of Defense Major-General Abdusalom Azizov traveled to Tajikistan to watch the final stages of the Unbreakable Fraternity military exercises. While in Tajikistan, he talked to his counterparts in the Tajik Ministry of Defense to discuss how to better improve military relationships and exchanges between the two states.

In the coming months, it is yet to be seen how ties between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan will improve. While the current focus has been on security matters, it is yet to be seen if this will expand to economic ties.