President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, friends,
We are delighted to welcome President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon on his official visit to Russia. Let me stress that our talks with Mr Rahmon today were held, as per tradition, in a friendly and businesslike atmosphere and were very constructive.
Relations between Russia and Tajikistan are a true strategic partnership and alliance. They are based on the immutable principles of mutual respect, equality, and consideration of each other’s interests. Most importantly, they continue to develop steadily and dynamically.
Russia is among Tajikistan’s largest foreign trade partners. Last year, trade grew by more than seven percent reaching $1.5 billion. Russia is a leading investor in Tajikistan’s economy. More than 300 enterprises with Russian participation operate in the republic, and our capital investments amount to $1.6 billion in total.
It is important that Russia and Tajikistan have almost completely stopped using foreign currency in mutual settlements. The share of the ruble in commercial transactions exceeded 96 percent at the end of last year. Sustainable channels of credit and banking cooperation are being consistently built. A number of Tajikistan’s banks have connected to the financial message transmission system of the Central Bank of Russia.
Russian and Tajikistani citizens have the opportunity to make cross-border money transfers through the fast payment system. Issues related to wider use of the Mir Russian payment cards in Tajikistan are being resolved.
The two countries’ governments are constantly working to improve the regime of mutual trade and investments and to create conditions for new mutually beneficial projects.
The economic cooperation programmes signed last October are being implemented. The relevant departments of the two countries have developed an action plan to increase bilateral trade turnover by 2.5 times by 2030.
Russia supplies large volumes of oil and oil products to Tajikistan, almost completely covering the needs of the Tajik economy for hydrocarbons. Moreover, fuel is supplied are export customs duties.
Gazprom Neft is actively operating on the Tajik market, owning a network of oil depots and petrol stations and providing a significant share of all tax payments to the state budget of the country.
Russia is helping Tajikistan develop hydropower. The Sangtuda hydroelectric power station, built with Russian participation, produces 12 percent of the electricity consumed by the republic.
Russian companies are ready to continue assisting in operating and upgrading existing generation capacities in Tajikistan based on the most advanced technological and environmental standards.
Industrial cooperation is also deepening. Russian BTK Group is implementing a project to create a full-cycle light industry cluster in the republic, starting from cotton cultivation to the production of finished garments.
Deliveries of mechanical engineering products, cars, pipes, rolled metal products to the Tajik market have been established, and, in accordance with the intergovernmental agreement signed today in Dushanbe, a Russian-Tajik Industrial Park will soon be set up.
It is well known that about a million of Tajiks live and work in Russia. They are employed in various sectors, especially such dynamically progressing ones as construction and housing and utilities, transport, and logistics. They make a big contribution to the development of the Russian economy. It is important that their remittances to their homeland are a serious help for both Tajikistan and their families.
We work to ensure that the Tajikistani citizens in Russia have decent working conditions and social protection. Russian specialised bodies maintain a constant dialogue with their Tajik colleagues and provide them with most detailed explanations of the migration rules.
I would also like to note that our country provides Tajikistan with significant donor assistance. School meals programmes, irrigation system upgrading, and many other projects in important areas of Tajik society are covered with Russian funds.
Cooperation in the cultural and humanitarian sphere is advancing. As is know, Russian has the constitutional status of the language of interethnic communication in Tajikistan. We are very grateful to the President of Tajikistan for such a careful attitude towards the Russian language.
In this context, let me note a successfully implemented joint project of school instruction in Russian: five schools in Dushanbe and other cities of Tajikistan, where about 5,500 schoolchildren study according to Russian educational curricula and standards. Almost 100 Russians teachers were sent to Tajikistan last year as part of the Russian Teacher Abroad project.
In addition to this, over 35,000 Tajikistani students are studying today in Russian universities, as well as in their branches in the republic and in the Russian-Tajik (Slavonic) University. One of the largest quotas for the CIS countries with a thousand state scholarships has been allocated for the needs of Tajikistan.
A ceremony has been held in Dushanbe today to mark the start of construction, with Russia’s involvement, of an International Educational Centre for Talented Children and the new building of the Vladimir Mayakovsky State Russian Drama Theatre. Mr Rahmon and I took part in it via videoconference. We hope that these new cultural facilities will become another symbol of friendship between the peoples of Russia and Tajikistan.
This year, we will mark together the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. This a truly common victory, and we understand very well the price paid for it and treasure the memory of the heroism of our fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers, who defended life and freedom for us and for future generations.
The President of Tajikistan accepted our invitation and will come to celebrate the anniversary of Victory on May 9 in Moscow. According to the existing agreement, a unit of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan will participate in the ceremonial parade on Red Square.
The discussion of the current regional and global agenda has reaffirmed that our countries have many aligned positions. Russia and Tajikistan adhere to the principles of the supremacy of international law, sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs.
We coordinate efforts in key areas and at key international venues such as the CSTO, the SCO, and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Russia provides support to Tajikistan during its chairmanship at the CIS this year, the main event of which will be the summit of the Commonwealth leaders in Dushanbe this October.
Of course, we could not help but discuss security issues in Central Asia, in particular focusing on the challenges and threats emanating from Afghanistan. Russia will continue to help maintain peace and stability in this region, including by using the capabilities of the 201st Russian military base stationed in Tajikistan.
We have agreed to continue strengthening our defence, military-technical, antiterrorist and antidrug cooperation. Let me add that a border outpost was opened in a mountainous region of Tajikistan at the end of 2023. The outpost was built with funds from the Russian federal budget and has the most advanced technical equipment and weapons. Today, we have agreed that we will continue working in this area.
In conclusion, I would like to stress that today’s talks, discussion, and the documents signed will serve to further promote Russian-Tajikistani partnership and improve the well-being and prosperity of the two nations.
Thank you very much for your attention.
President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon: Thank you, Mr President.
Members of the media,
I would like to begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to President Vladimir Putin for his invitation to visit the Russian Federation.
As President Putin has already mentioned, our discussions covered key aspects of the relationship between our two nations, along with pressing regional and international issues.
We are pleased to acknowledge the positive momentum in political dialogue at all levels. Trade and economic cooperation have also seen significant progress in recent years, with steady growth in trade turnover. Over the past year alone, trade volume increased by nearly 16 percent, reaching approximately two billion dollars.
We have agreed to develop an intergovernmental action plan through 2030 aimed at expanding mutual trade. Additionally, we will continue to support the operations of Russian-backed companies in Tajikistan, which currently number around 400.
We reached agreements to strengthen collaboration in industrial cooperation, highlighting the positive progress in the textile industry.
The agro-industrial sector was identified as a promising area for further partnership. In this regard, we proposed that Russia take active steps toward establishing processing enterprises in Tajikistan for agricultural products, including vegetables, fruits, raw cotton, leather, and wool. We also reaffirmed Tajikistan’s commitment to expanding exports of eco-friendly agricultural products to the Russian market.
Today, we agreed to move forward with the second phase of the uranium tailings reclamation project in northern Tajikistan in collaboration with Rosatom.
We also consider it important to explore the possibility of a joint expedition by experts from both countries to assess the condition of our glaciers. Due to climate change, Tajikistan's glaciers – which supply up to 60 percent of Central Asia’s water resources – are melting at an alarming rate. Additionally, our discussions placed significant emphasis on strengthening cooperation in the energy sector.
During our talks, Mr President and I highly commended the strong level of cooperation in culture. Via videoconference, we inaugurated the construction of the Vladimir Mayakovsky Russian Drama Theatre and the Centre for Talented Children in Tajikistan’s capital. We also agreed that the Days of Tajikistan Culture will take place in Russia this June.
Today, we had an in-depth discussion on cooperation in the area of labour migration. Interdepartmental efforts will be intensified, focusing on strengthening interregional cooperation. Currently, approximately 80 regions of Russia maintain trade, economic, cultural, and humanitarian ties with Tajikistan.
The negotiations highlighted the strong intergovernmental cooperation between our countries. Today, we had a detailed discussion on security cooperation. Close and productive collaboration between our special services and law enforcement agencies has been established, yielding concrete results over the past year.
The cooperation between our countries in this area encompasses a broad range of issues related to addressing security challenges and threats. These include, in particular, terrorism, extremism, radicalism, transnational organised crime, including cybercrime, and drug trafficking.
We greatly value our bilateral collaboration on multilateral platforms, particularly within the UN, CIS, SCO, and CSTO. We also express our gratitude to the Russian side for its continued support of our global initiatives on water and climate.
I would like to highlight that we are very pleased with the outcomes of these negotiations. Tajikistan will continue to work towards fully unlocking the vast potential of our relations, alliance, and strategic partnership with Russia.
In closing, I would like to once again express my thanks to President Putin and all our Russian friends for their warm welcome and hospitality.
Thank you for your attention.