Defense Minister Antony says hello to Tajikistan- sweet ties?
Neelam Mathews Oct 3, 2011 Defense Minister AK Antony enroute to Moscow to co-chair the 11 th India Russia Inter-Governmental Commission for Military and Technical Co-operation stopped at the Dushanbe Airport in Tajikistan today. MoD says Tajik Defense Minister Col General Sherali Khairyulleov “skipped attendance in Parliament and drove down to the tarmac to accord a red carpet traditional welcome to Antony who was offered Bread and Honey as he alighted from the Special Indian Air Force Aircraft. “The two ministers exchanged views on regional and global security situation and had working lunch together,” says MoD. The bread and honey must have tasted real sweet for Antony, who has been known to woo Tajikstan, one of the five erstwhile Central Asian Republics closest to India and one that holds a special place in India’s foreign policy priorities. China ’s emergence as the largest economy in Asia and its increasingly influential role in the region will lead othe...