Why Iran invests in Tajikistan?
Experts say that the last visit of president of Tajikistan to Iran gave a new impulse to Iranian-Tajik relations. However not many of them understand, why has Iran accelerated its economic cooperation with Tajikistan in recent years, if it did not pay much attention to its sister-country fifteen years after it got independence.
The two countries have already signed a bunch of agreements which strengthen the economic ties between them. During the last several years Iranian companies have been actively investing in the economy of Tajikistan - hydroelectric power station Sangtuda – 2; tunnel – Anzob; power line to Kunduz and Herat (Afghanistan), and further to Mashhad (Iran); Charmazak Tunnel; Cement plant; production of “Samand” cars in Tajikistan – these are the projects for millions of dollars and some of them are already launched and some to be launched in the coming period. There are many other projects of different scales which are to be realized mostly by Iran.
Experts say that the economic presence of Iran in other Central Asian countries is much substantial than in Tajikistan, although Tajikistan is the only country which has common language, cultural and historical roots with Iran. Seems like Iran is trying to correct that mistake, the recent investments show that Tajikistan has become one of the priority countries in Iranian foreign policy
Although Iran is experiencing a shortage of investments in its own economy it continues to make million dollars investments in the economy of Tajikistan. There was even a case when the Iranian Azeris boiled over an agreement between Iran and Tajikistan which guaranteed millions of dollars of investment to Tajikistan. They were upset because the region in Iran where live Azeris is impoverished and needs investments.
Probably one of the main reasons for Iran to strengthen its economic ties with Tajikistan has simply an economic implication. However, I would say that the major reason for economic relations enhancement betweeen these countries is rooted in the will of Iran to avoid economic sanctions which are constantly proposed by US. US don’t want to be involved in war with this country but it tries to put sanctions on it and convinces others to do the same. Iran in its turn wants to make sure that its neighbors, including Tajikistan, are not going to have such relations with US government which could be harmful for it.
on June 14th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Interesting analysis Vadim,
It is indeed puzzling why Iran has intensified it’s ties with Tajikistan. Among some folks in Tajikistan there is a hope that someday Iran+Afghanistan+Tajikistan (+Samarkand and Bukhoro Regions of Uzbekistan) will form some kind of persian-speaking confederation. Something akeen to EU.
Could these relationship-building initiatives be a part of that grander scheme? All of these countries (+regions of Samarkand and Bukhoro) share deep historical and cultural roots, which could in reality serve as a good foundation for such a union.
Although there are a lot of similarities in terms of culture and language, there are a lot more gaps in mentalities between these three countries.
For one thing Tajiks (compared to Afghans and Iranians) are far more liberal and less oppressive. Plus majority of Tajiks do not see the union having anything more than a cultural/lingual link unless Afghanistan and Iran change (evolve to be more liberal).
Overall, Iran seems to be run by a bunch of clerics whose actions do not follow any logic. In light of that, it is hard to see how Tajikistan could save them from economic/political sanctions.
In any case the investments are good and I am glad someone is committed to re-build Tajikistan.
on June 15th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
Tajicboy,
With all due respect, you have mentioned, on this post and a previous (on the rumor mill about the mafia bet involving women in Samarkand) the “mentality/mentalitet” of Uzbeks or Tajiks or other specific ethnic monickers. Could you please, if only to satisfy my own curiousity, explain what you mean by “mentalitet”. I myself am of German-Irish-Korean descent - what exactly do you think my “Mentalitet” is or should be? Or, closer to home, someone of, let’s say, Korean-Russian-Uzbek origins?
on June 15th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Andrew,
Well, English thesaurus defines mentality (i.e. mentalitet) as:
“The thought processes characteristic of an individual or group”
I am not sure what to say regarding your situation. Who do you think you understand and think like most? I say you should stick with a group, which you are most comfortable in all levels.
In the US there are a lot of people with different ethnic backgrounds but ethnicity here is just a label, because no US-born Russian, Korean or for that matter Uzbek could seamlessly integrate into his/her respective society.
What does that make them? American!!!!
on June 15th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Well, the point is that you seem to be saying that one can classify people’s mentality along ethnic lines, which seems overstated and even dangerous. When one says “the mentality of the Uzbeks”, which Uzbeks are you speaking of? Uzbeks that live in Samarkand or perhaps more urban areas, or Uzbeks who live in more rural areas, or Uzbeks that have been abroad and work with international organizations in Uzbekistan, or young Uzbeks at Tashkent University, or the Uzbeks that sell watermelons on the streets of Almaty or Uzbeks living in Khojand, Tajikistan or Uzbeks who frequently travel to China and Turkey to do business or an Uzbek who sits quietly in has apartment and composes music? Surely all these Uzbeks have a wide variety of perspectives, concepts of self, identities, life experiences, habits, opportunities, backgrounds, needs and desires that make them unique and in some ways entirely different than one another. Which is to say, many Uzbeks may have more in common, as far as “mentality” is concerned, with me than with their neighbors.
on June 15th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Andrew,
My experience shows that people CAN be characterized along ethnic lines especially in places like CA where ethnicity is closely tied with a system of beliefs and a particular thought process.
So if you speak about people across the border from Tajikistan, you may through your “unique” perspective out of the window. Uzbeks there are dictated what type of crop to plant and what to think.
That “unique” environment generates such statements as “uzbak mafia lost to kazakhs 500 girls”. For this to be possible and even thinkable people must think that girls have no rights, i.e. people are commodity.
With the way the country run, they may not be far from truth and that, my friend, what makes uzbek mentality what it is.
on June 15th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
“the point is that you seem to be saying that one can classify people’s mentality along ethnic lines, which seems overstated and even dangerous.”
I don’t understand what makes classifying people’s mentality as such so dangerous? The word “mentality” can be applied to groups (ref. English dictionary) so there is no need to be overly drammatic about it.
The fact that you divide uzbeks into rural or urban, etc. does not make any less uzbeks (unless they are nominal uzbeks, i.e. living abroad and having been influenced by non-uzbek culture and way of thinking).
on June 16th, 2007 at 12:15 am
And how is the attitude or belief that women have no rights and can be considered property to be sold or bartered at will specifically “Uzbek”? Seems that, given the epidemic of human trafficing around the globe, from China to Russia to Turkey, that belief is not specific to “Uzbeks”, and is perhaps shared by many Tajiks as well.
The point being that Uzbekistan and Kazakstan and all the Central Asia republics have now joined the 21st century, where it is very difficult indeed to find common characteristics of thinking or relating to the world among an ethnic group. Rural and urban grow further from one another, young and old exist in different worlds, the rich and poor have vastly different opportunities, choices, and lifestyles. To place an ethnic group into one “mentality” is to deny the reality of our very complicated world.
sermon ended. Amen.
on June 17th, 2007 at 1:18 am
And how is the attitude or belief that women have no rights and can be considered property to be sold or bartered at will specifically “Uzbek”?
Well first, in order for their widely spread and bizarre rumor “uzbek mafia lost 500 girls to kazakhs” to be true one should indeed suppose that it is indeed possible to lose something that does NOT belong to you to someone else.
Second, that statement presupposes that people are indeed a bunch of dumb sheep that could be ordered to do whatever “uzbek mafia” wants them to do.
Think about it for a second. Who would those 500 girls have to be in order for such rumors to be even remotely true? Even an average mind with a slightest sense of intelligence (or logic for that matter) would register that there is something wrong with that statement. Now I am not denying that there is human trafficking, I am just amazed by uzbek explanation of the underlying factors that’s all.
If the fact that this rumor originates in Uzbekistan and is widely accepted as a cause for missing girls by a large number of population does not make it uzbek then I don’t know what could.
Or would you now say that Uzbeks in Samarqand are not representative of the whole nation or their ethnicity because every person is unique? Wouldn’t that make YOUR statement “dangerous”?
No matter how you look at it or try to slice and dice the information (young, old, professional, street vendors, rich or poor) each nation (especially in CA) has a fundamental set of values, traditions and a system of beliefs which form its mentality which in turn differentiates it from another.
Those are taught in the school, in your neighborhood and in your family. Plus they are confirmed by the same society you live in. At the end, these set of values become ingrained in your thinking process. They form a prism through which people look at the world and try to find the cause & effect between two different events (in our case the disappearance of girls and uzbek mafia).
Anyway, I think I made my point more than clear here and in my post in uzbek blog (by the way check the second comment and you will see that yet another uzbek thinks the explanation is quite a plausible one).
Cheers!
on August 28th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
This is an interesting website. I will visit it often. Thank you.
on January 3rd, 2008 at 12:55 am
maybe Tajikistan will be added to Samarkand and Bokhara one day like it used to be before . I thihk these cities names stand far higher than country name. Tajik boy has some issues dont bring them to those citiies where a lot of nations live in peace unlike in Tajikistan where brother killed his brother (tajik eating tajik’s flesh) because he thought he was superior than another.
on February 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Wow, you learn something new every day! I’ve just googled ‘Samand’ and the first link is a Bulgarian forum for ‘the proud owners of Samand’, I’ve NEVER EVER thought that there are Iranian made cars here… hmm, I wonder how many they’ve sold so far, €10,000 for a brand new sedan ain’t bad at all!