President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Mr President, Tajikistani colleagues, dear friends,
We are meeting today because of a special occasion. During our meeting in a restricted format, I told the President of Tajikistan that we meet often, in both bilateral and multilateral formats. We have already met six times this year. But today represents the high point of our bilateral communication: today the President of Tajikistan is in Russia on a state visit and, incidentally, this is the first such visit in the history of Russian-Tajikistani relations.
What is the symbolic significance of this visit? The fact that such visits always take place if countries have developed, close and – in this situation I am not afraid of the word – friendly and partnership relations, relations between allies. And for that reason of course we took stock of the development of our relations in recent years and we talked about economic projects, cooperation in the military technical sphere, and in cultural and educational spheres. But this is not the most important thing. The main thing is that we have witnessed a certain development rate in Russian-Tajikistani relations and we are completely satisfied with it. We strive to ensure that our relations are founded on the most important principles that will govern our work in the years ahead.
Therefore, I once again cordially welcome the President of Tajikistan and our colleagues from Tajikistan who came to Russia for this official visit.
President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon: Mr President,
First of all I would like to express our sincere gratitude for the invitation to come here on a state visit. We are grateful to our Russian friends for their traditional hospitality, warm and friendly welcome.
The desire for multifaceted relations with Russia has been one of the pillars of Tajikistan's foreign policy since the early days of its independence. Our relations with Russia are not just a standard form of bilateral cooperation in various fields, but rather a conscious long-term strategic choice.
Our countries are joined by multidimensional trade, economic, political and cultural cooperation, an extensive contractual and legal framework, and similar approaches to ensuring regional and global security.
On behalf of my delegation I would like, Mr President, to thank you again for this warm welcome and hospitality.
Thank you very much.
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