DUSHANBE (AFP/Reuters) - The Pakistani and Tajik presidents Wednesday pledged to step up efforts to fight militants at a regional summit amid concerns about the spread of violence from neighbouring Afghanistan. President Asif Ali Zardari pledged to work with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon on stemming the flow of weapons and ammunition to militants in the region. The two states condemn terrorism and extremism in all their forms and manifestations and express their readiness to cooperate closely, bilaterally... in combating these twin threats, a memorandum signed by the leaders said. Zardari spoke bluntly about the deteriorating security situation in the region. It (terrorism) threatens my brothers country, it threatens my country and it threatens the neighbourhood. So once again I reiterate that we will stand together against this threat of the 21st century, Zardari told reporters. Tajikistan President urged Zardari to work more closely together to prevent the rise of instability in Central Asia. Addressing Zardari, Tajik President Imomali Rakhmon said more needed to be done to maintain stability in the region. The two sides have also emphasised principal positions on fighting against terrorism and extremism, Rakhmon told reporters after talks with Zardari. We do share similar and close positions on these issues and our countries should have taken coordinated actions aimed against this antagonistic phenomenon, he added, without elaborating. Speaking alongside Rakhmon at the presidential palace in Dushanbe, Zardari avoided specifics. We will stand together against the challenges of this century, he said. ... we are looking forward to strengthen our cooperation. Tajikistan, which shares a porous 1,600 kilometre border with Afghanistan, has been battling militants suspected of having fled security operations in Pakistan and Afghanistan for three months in its remote eastern mountains. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who also arrived in Dushanbe Wednesday, has vowed to hold talks with the Taliban insurgency in his country if re-elected. Karzai is set to hold talks on security, energy and transport Thursday with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, as well as Rakhmon and Zardari. Russia has long been involved in Tajik plans to develop their immense hydroelectric resources, which Dushanbe hopes can be used to export electricity to neighbouring states, including Afghanistan. Online adds: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan would obtain hydel power from Tajikistan and urged private sectors of both the countries to cooperate to promote trade between the two counties. Addressing a joint press conference with his Tajik counterpart here on Wednesday in Dushanbe, the President underlined that both the countries would cooperate each other to promote trade. Talking about menace of terrorism, he urged that joint efforts by Pakistan and Tajikistan would continue to tackle terrorism and extremism. We stand together against this threat and have decided to cooperate in other areas as well, President Zardari said. He said the two countries have agreed to have enhanced cooperation in banking and transportation sectors, with the sole intention to bring the two people closer. President Zardari and President Rahmon also stressed the importance of having greater interaction between the private sectors of the two countries. President Zardari said Tajikistan has rich natural resources and the two countries can gain a lot from increased cooperation. The Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on the occasion emphasised that contacts should be enhanced to promote cooperation between the two countries. A joint statement issued at the end of the talks said the two countries would take joint measures to realise full potential of their bilateral trade and economic relations on mutually beneficial projects. The two countries also agreed on the need of expediting and establishing regional electricity networks. They stressed for early implementation of the CASA 1000 MW project. Both sides agreed to undertake further studies and measures needed for its implementation and invited international organisations to financial institutions to contribute to the project, the joint statement that was signed by the leaders said. Meanwhile, three cooperation documents were signed between Tajikistan and Pakistan in Dushanbe on Wednesday. Visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and his Tajik counterpart President Emomali inked a joint declaration on further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Pakistan. Two other cooperation documents, including the programme of cooperation between the MFAs of the two countries for 2009-2012 and the protocol of exchange of notes on ratification of the government-to-government agreement between Tajikistan and Pakistan on mutual protection of investments, were signed by Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Talking to a private TV channel, FM Qureshi underlined that inking various agreements with Tajikistan on bilateral fields is a good sign for the relations of both the countries. The Foreign Minister said that it is the need of hour to expand trade relations with Tajikistan. He said that due to deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, trade relations between Pakistan and Tajikistan have been badly affected.