DUSHANBE -- Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon have discussed bilateral ties between the two Central Asian states at talks in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe.
Aripov arrived in Dushanbe on January 10 for a two-day official visit.
Aripov and Rahmon discussed issues including the elimination of obstacles in trade, simplified border crossing for the neighboring countries' citizens, decrease of taxes for goods transportation, reconstruction of the railway link, demining of some areas along the border, opening of a border checkpoint, and water use, the Tajik presidential press service said.
It said topics also included joint efforts to combat regional threats such as terrorism and extremism.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, ties between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have often been tense due to disagreements on issues including borders, water, energy resources, and transit routes.
Relations have been warmer since the death of longtime Uzbek President Islam Karimov in 2016.
President Shavkat Mirziyoev, who took over after Karimov's death, has said that improving ties with Uzbekistan's neighbors is a major foreign-policy priority.