We’re new to this, so please bear with us through any technical problems as we get used to blogging! The most important thing about this blog is that we very much welcome your thoughts, comments and suggestions on what we are talking about. We want to broaden and stimulate debate – so let us know what you are thinking by using the comments feature. If you want us to talk about a specific subject, please suggest that too.
On that note, I have been thinking a lot about two things this week. The first occurred to me while driving through Dushanbe on Saturday, which was National Flag Day here. I was impressed at just how many young Tajiks walking the streets were sporting the green, white and red of the Tajik flag, all beneath the world’s largest flagpole proudly displaying the same colours! These young people are happy and proud to be Tajik – a visible success of the government’s policy of promoting patriotism and national pride into a young independent nation. For a country like Tajikistan, which continues to rely upon the international development community (including the UK’s Department for International Development) to help it to develop, modernise and evolve into the free and successful nation that it aspires to, I am continually impressed by the attitudes of the people here. They realise that despite the daily difficulties they face, things are much better now than in the dark days of post-independence civil war, and are continuing to improve steadily with strong economic growth. We all know, and the government accepts, that there is still a long way to go. As Her Majesty’s Ambassador, I want to help Tajikistan achieve that goal. 
The second thing I noted was the results of a survey by the British Heart Foundation on the top regrets of British people. A column in today’s Times quotes Charles Dickens as saying, “Regrets are the natural properties of grey hairs”. If that is true then it is fine for me to be like Dickens, and indeed Frank Sinatra! I hope that this blog won’t be another, but for what it’s worth my top three are:
• Not having learned Russian 10 years ago – it would have made my job now so much easier!
• Not listening to my father and saving money – ditto
• Not having had the conviction of my opinions when I was younger
I’d be interested to hear what regrets readers might have and, bringing it back to Tajikistan, what regrets, if any, Tajikistan should have in how it has gone about building a new nation and fostering a sense of patriotism. Please leave your comments below. Also, why not have a look at our Facebook page? You can like us on there to see updates on our Embassy’s work and activity in Tajikistan.
I look forward to writing again soon.