Visiting US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday Tajikistan is a reliable partner in the global struggle against terrorism and in promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan, according to reports from Dushanbe, the Tajik capital.

Rumsfeld made these remarks at a press conference after he won assurance from Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov that US and other international forces operating in Afghanistan can continue to use the country's airspace and facilities.

Earlier this month, the six member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) called on the US-led anti-terror coalition to set a timetable for their withdrawal of troops and the temporary use of infrastructure in Central Asian countries.

Since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001, the US troops and forces from several of its allies have been deployed at air bases in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Rumsfeld told reporters Tuesday that the SCO appeal did not come up in his talks with Rakhmonov.

Rumsfeld said they discussed issues of counter-narcotics, counter-proliferation and regional economic growth, hoping that the two countries could further the relationship.

At the news conference, Tajik Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov noted that Tajikistan had extended overflight and refueling privileges to US and French forces.

"Tajikistan has observed and will continue to observe all these international commitments," Nazarov said.

Rumsfeld arrived in Dushanbe Tuesday from Bishkek where he was informed by the newly elected leaders of Kyrgyzstan that American forces face no near-term deadline for withdrawing from an air base near the Kyrgyz capital.

Source: Xinhua