<p>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.<br /><br /></p>.<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />India has also developed the Ayni airbase near the Tajik capital Dushanbe, which provided them with a foothold in the Central Asian region.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /></p>
<p>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.<br /><br /></p>.<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />India has also developed the Ayni airbase near the Tajik capital Dushanbe, which provided them with a foothold in the Central Asian region.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /></p>