The U.S. government has provided Tajikistan with a $9-million interest-free credit to step up the crackdown on drug-trafficking, as well as an estimated $40 million to the country's Health Ministry to build hospitals, U.S. Ambassador in Tajikistan Franklin Huddle has said. On Thursday, he met with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov in Dushanbe. They discussed options for expanding economic contacts between Tajikistan and the United States, as well as ways to provide humanitarian aid to improve the country's social sector and healthcare. (Interfax)