Ahmadinejad to visit Tajikistan early September

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans on departing for Tajikistan early September, said Iranian ambassador to Dushanbe, Ali Asghar Sherdoust, Trend reports.

"Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to visit Tajikistan on September 4-5," Sherdoust said. SHe added that "5 mutual trips of Iranian and Tajik presidents in less than two recent years are rare and show friendly relations between the two countries."

He carried on to say that "the two countries will discuss ways to widen mutual relations and launch the first phase of the shared big project of hydropower plant and dam which has been built by Iranian experts in due time and is ready to be inaugurated."

He noted, "the hydropower plant is one of the key projects in Tajik energy sector which was built on "Vakhsh River", also known as "Surkhob" in north-central Tajikistan.

Iranian envoy to Tajikistan went on to say, "the dam and the plant cost $220 million, $40m of which was provided by Tajikistan and the rest $180m will be invested by Iranian government."