The President of the International Progress Organization, Dr. Hans Köchler, today concluded a four-day information visit to the Republic of Tajikistan.

In the course of consultations in the country's capital Dushanbe, Dr. Köchler emphasized the special role of the countries along the ancient Silk Road, in the heart of Eurasia, for a better mutual understanding between East and West. He said that accepting the idea of peaceful co-existence among different civilizations, with their distinct worldviews and political systems, is an indispensable requirement for prosperity and stability not only at the regional, but at the global level as well. In a series of meetings with leaders of academic, diplomatic and political life he discussed how the specific historical experience of the peoples of Central Asia, at the crossroads of civilizations since ancient times, could contribute to the development of a contemporary "Philosophy of Dialogue" - a set of norms and principles that is urgently needed under the circumstances of today's geopolitical tensions.

Dr. Köchler met, among others, with the Chairman of the Tajik Society for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, former President of the National Assembly of Tajikistan Saidullo Khairullov; the President of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Mamadsho Ilolov;  the Director-General of the Department of International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, M. A. Jalolov; and the Chairman of the Association of Political Scientists of Tajikistan, Dr. Abdugani Mamadzimov. The President of the I.P.O. also visited a charity bazaar in support of the orphaned children of Afghanistan, which was jointly organized by the Embassies of China, Russia, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Germany, and the Delegation of the European Union, among others.

The information and consultation visit was organized by the Tajik Society for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and followed earlier visits to the Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in the years since 2001.