India will soon provide medium-lift choppers to Tajikistan and dedicate a hospital, as part of efforts to build on the strategic ties between the two countries in the light of the US-led troops preparing to pull out from Afghanistan.
The 50-bed hospital is to be inaugurated by Defence Minister A K Antony, who is expected to visit there next month, according to the Defence Ministry.
The hospital, set up by the Indian Air Force recently, will help by providing specialist care to the local Tajik population in the southern part of the country.
India had earlier, too, built a hospital in Tajikistan in Farkhor during the late 90s on the Tajik-Afghan border to treat wounded Northern Alliance fighters who were battling the then ruling Taliban regime.
India has also developed the Ayni airbase near the Tajik capital Dushanbe, which provided them with a foothold in the Central Asian region.
India had deployed its Army and Border Roads Organisation personnel, to upgrade the airbase by extending its runway and constructing an air-traffic control tower along with a perimeter fencing around the base.
The Ayni airbase was completed in 2008 after encountering minor problems there. This was achieved by the deployment of over 100 personnel there to facilitate operations.