The spiritual leader of the world's Ismaili community, the Aga Khan, is visiting Tajikistan, home to a small but influential Ismaili community living mainly in the south of the country.
More than two-thousand Ismailis turned out to welcome him on his arrival on Monday.
The Aga Khan told reporters he would discuss economic projects in the remote mountainous regions of the country.
Since independence, the Aga Khan has poured millions of dollars into the country in aid and also played a part in brokering the peace in Tajikistan's civil war.
The Aga Khan last came to Tajikistan three years ago to meet his followers from whom he had been separated by Soviet rule.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service