Jump to content

Tajikistan–Uzbekistan relations

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Random Usser (talk | contribs) at 01:32, 21 December 2018 (incorrect). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Uzbekistan – Tajikistan relations
Map indicating locations of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan

Uzbekistan
Tajikistan

Uzbekistan–Tajikistan relations refers to the relations between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Tajikistan. Analysts said that the two countries are "engaged in an undeclared cold war"[1] and have the worst bilateral relations in Central Asia.[2]However, with the election of Shavkat Mirziyoyev as President of Uzbekistan Uzbek-Tajik relations, as well as relations between Uzbekistan and its neighbors in Central Asia, reached a new era of potential.[3]

Before independence

The Russian Empire (1721–1917) controlled Russian Turkestan as a singular unit; the creation of "nations" within Central Asia was not on the agenda of Russian policy makers. However, revolutionary fervor from the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923) spilled over from the former Ottoman Empire into Russian lands. Based on the ideology of Pan-Turkism, which seeks to unite all speakers of Turkic languages from Anatolia to China into a single state, the Young Turk leader Enver Pasha lead the Basmachi Revolt in Soviet Central Asia. However, pan-Turkist reformers and Jadids, even members of the anti-Basmachi Communist Party of Turkestan, were hostile to the claim of Tajiks and other non-Turkic peoples to a separate identity in Central Asia.[4]

The establishment of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (commonly known as Uzbekistan) in 1924 as part of national delimitation in the Soviet Union resulted in the Uzbekization of the Tajik cultural centers of Samarcand and Bukhara, as well as of all Tajiks in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, since Tajikistan was not afforded the status of its own Soviet Socialist Republic. The ethnogenesis of the "Uzbeks" involved the liquidation of certain other ethnicities like Sarts and Kuramas, who identified with other Iranian peoples like the Tajiks before assimilation into the Uzbek nation.[4] Eventually, however, the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (also known as Tajikistan in short) was created in 1929. Turkic, Caucasian, Cossack, and Crimean collaborationism with the Axis powers during World War II resulted in a reaction from Soviet authorities which included population transfers that brought Caucasians to Central Asia.

Both republics participated in the referendum in March 1991 in an attempt to preserve the Soviet Union in a different form, but was soon hampered by the attempted coup in August of that year. As a consequence, both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan declared their independence in the months of 1991 and became members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, in which officially gave way for the dismemberment of the Soviet Union at the end of the year.

Under Maintanance

Under Maintanace

Kamchik Pass railway

In 2013, Uzbekistan announced its plan to build a new railway through the Kamchik Pass, connecting the cities of Tashkent and Namangan. The new railway route will replace the old Soviet-era railway that cuts through northern Tajikistan. It would save Uzbekistan a reported $25 million per year in transit fees, and may become part of a long-planned rail route to China. Tajik experts have stated concern that this would potentially further isolate Tajikistan which is already the poorest country in the region.[2] In February 2015, the World Bank announced it would loan $195 million towards the construction of the railway.[5]

Development in relations

With the election of Shavkat Mirziyoyev as President of Uzbekistan Uzbek-Tajik relations, as well as relations between Uzbekistan and its neighbors in Central Asia, reached a new era of potential. Mirziyoyev and Emomali Rahmon have met several times since September 2016, and in March 2018, Mirziyoyev made an historic visit to Dushanbe, where 27 bilateral agreements were signed in the fields of trade, economy, investment, finance, transport and transit, agriculture, water and energy, taxes, customs, tourism, education and science, health, culture, interregional cooperation, in the field of security and countering crime.[6]

State Visits

Presidential visits from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan

File:Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Emomali Rahmon.jpg
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in March 2018.

Presidential visits from Tajikistan to Uzbekistan

References

  1. ^ Stern, David L. (September 1, 2008). "Tajikistan Hopes Water Will Power Its Ambitions". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-01. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ a b Sadykov, Murat (14 March 2013). "Uzbekistan: New Ferghana Railway Plan Tweaks Tajikistan". Eurasia.net. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  3. ^ http://tashkenttimes.uz/national/2134-uzbekistan-tajikistan-sign-27-accords
  4. ^ a b Dagiev, Dagikhudo (2013). Regime Transition in Central Asia: Stateness, Nationalism and Political Change in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Routledge. pp. 17–23.
  5. ^ "7.6 Million People in Uzbekistan Will Benefit from Better Inter-regional Accessibility by Railway Link". World Bank. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  6. ^ http://tashkenttimes.uz/national/2134-uzbekistan-tajikistan-sign-27-accords
  7. ^ https://m.akipress.com/photo:826/&
  8. ^ http://www.president.tj/en/node/12233
  9. ^ http://www.president.tj/en/node/12919
  10. ^ https://www.rferl.org/amp/tajik-president-makes-bridge-building-visit-to-uzbekistan/29438858.html

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Tajikistan–Uzbekistan_relations&oldid=874708232"