Why does Tajikistan need Bayraktar drones?

The Parliament of Tajikistan has ratified an agreement with Turkey that opens up opportunities for the procurement of military equipment, particularly Turkish drones. This was reported by Radio Ozodi.

The agreement was signed between the governments of the two countries in July 2023, and at the end of March this year, the government of Tajikistan submitted the document for ratification to the lower house of the country’s parliament. Details of the agreement were partially disclosed on April 11 of this year in the Majlisi Namoyandagon.

Defense Minister Sherali Mirzo stated last week before the deputies that Ankara will allocate 50 million lira (over 1.5 million dollars) to Dushanbe for the procurement of military equipment, particularly drones. According to the Minister of Defense, Tajikistan will be able to purchase from the Turkish defense industry “weapons, ammunition, unmanned aerial vehicles, and modern equipment” with this amount. “The agreement with Turkey in the military sphere is important for combating modern threats, particularly terrorism and extremism,” emphasized Sherali Mirzo.

According to the document, “after the completion of internal procedures,” the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan will present a list of necessary armaments to the Ministry of National Defense of Turkey, and the process of procuring military products will begin. One of the main conditions of the agreement is that Tajikistan must use the allocated funds from Ankara exclusively for the procurement of military equipment from the Turkish defense industry.

The agreement stipulates that 50 million lira or 1.5 million dollars will be allocated from the Turkish state budget over a five-year period. If the procurement expenses exceed 50 million lira, Tajikistan must cover the excess amount independently. The document also states that Tajikistan cannot transfer the received armaments to a third party without Turkey’s consent. Dushanbe and Ankara also agreed on confidentiality regarding the implementation of the agreement without mutual consent.

The issue of procuring drones, particularly Turkish Bayraktars, has become especially relevant for Tajik authorities after 2022, when an armed conflict occurred at the Tajik-Kyrgyz border. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tajikistan then stated that the Kyrgyz side attacked some border areas using drones. Kyrgyzstan did not comment on these accusations. However, after this conflict, initiatives for procuring drones from Turkey have increasingly been voiced in Tajikistan.

In May 2022, media reported that Iran opened a factory for the production of Ababil-2 drones in Tajikistan. At that time, the Iranian General Staff stated that the Chief of the General Staff of Iran Mohammad Bagheri and the Minister of Defense of Tajikistan Sherali Mirzo were present at the opening ceremony of the production facility in Dushanbe. Later, Mohammad Bagheri stated that Tajikistan does not have the right to use Ababil-2 drones in border conflicts.