Tajik President Emomali Rahmon concluded a three-day official visit to Astana on November 7, resulting in the signing of 14 intergovernmental and interagency agreements. The visit, which builds upon the Treaty on Allied Relations signed in Dushanbe in August 2024 and ratified by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in May 2026, aims to broaden the scope of bilateral cooperation. Among the documents finalized were agreements covering electricity, mining, metallurgy, and health care, alongside a roadmap for agricultural cooperation through 2027-2028 and memorandums concerning artificial intelligence and e-commerce.
A significant component of the visit was a framework agreement regarding petroleum product supplies and a broader roadmap to increase trade between the two nations through 2030. However, the practical application of these energy commitments faces hurdles. Data from the first nine months of the year indicates that Kazakhstan’s fuel deliveries to Tajikistan declined by two-thirds, highlighting a substantial gap between diplomatic promises and current supply capacities.
During a business forum held during the visit, 11 commercial agreements valued at $135.3 million were announced. The two nations also reached an agreement on electricity, which serves Astana’s strategic interests. Since 2023, Kazakhstan has sought to purchase power from Tajikistan’s Rogun hydropower plant to address grid deficits, with plans to route the electricity through Uzbekistan. While a draft 20-year arrangement was approved by the Kazakh government in April 2025, the final terms regarding transit capacity remain undisclosed. The Rogun project, which began construction in 1976, currently operates only two units at low capacity, and the completion of the dam remains heavily dependent on export contracts with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Beyond energy and trade, Kazakhstan committed to providing personnel training for the border troops of Tajikistan’s State Committee for National Security. Astana also pledged support for Tajikistan’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council for the 2028-2029 term, a position currently contested by India. These efforts align with Tajikistan’s broader strategy of economic diversification, as the country seeks to balance its reliance on Russia and China. According to the Tajik Statistics Agency, China accounted for nearly 30 percent of Tajikistan’s trade in the first nine months of 2026, and President Rahmon signed a permanent friendship treaty in Beijing earlier in May.
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