As Viacheslav Volodin
Vyacheslav Victorovich
The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation. Elected in single mandate constituency № 163 (Saratov constituency - Saratov Oblast)
noted at the beginning of the meeting, this is Emomali Rahmon’s first visit to the State Duma.
“We have always had good relations, the leaders of many factions have visited Tajikistan,” said Emomali Rahmon. He expressed the hope that this was not his last visit and invited Viacheslav Volodin and the State Duma members to visit Tajikistan.
Development of strategic relations
“The development of a strategic partnership is an absolute priority of Tajikistan’s foreign policy. For 28 years, we have never changed our position regarding our strategic partner,” said Emomali Rahmon. He believes that joining efforts, including with the active participation of parliamentarians, the two countries will achieve the mutually beneficial goals in the foreseeable future.
“Inter-parliamentary ties are an important link in the whole complex of Tajik-Russian relations,” said Emomali Rahmon.
He pointed out that Russia and Tajikistan are working closely together, including at the IPA CIS platform. Another effective cooperation mechanism is the inter-chamber parliamentary commission on cooperation. Parliaments continue to make a significant contribution to the development of relations between countries, the President said. It shows, inter alia, “in the appearance of new forms of cooperation, including inter-regional, and their filling with practical content.”
Interregional cooperation is an important element of cooperation between the two countries. Emomali Rahmon noted that about 80 regions of Russia have business contacts with Tajikistan.
Economic cooperation
Russia remains among the most important trade and economic partners of Tajikistan, the trade turnover has maintained a positive dynamics of development following the results of the last year.
“Relatively substantial volumes of Russian investments in the economy of Tajikistan are accumulated. Nevertheless, we believe that the volume of Russian investments does not correspond to the opportunities that exist in this area,” said Emomali Rahmon.
“We are interested in attracting vast amounts of the Russian capital to Tajikistan,” he said.
Interaction in the cultural and educational spheres
The President of Tajikistan spoke about the development of interaction in the field of student exchange and education. So, he reminded that the Russian-Tajik Slavic University has been operating in Tajikistan for 20 years, now 7 thousand students are studying there. Moreover, there are branches of leading Russian universities, including Moscow State University, in the country. Children learn Russian from childhood. According to Emomali Rahmon, all this shows ”the real and not the declarative meaning that the Russian language has for us.“
“The issue of providing educational institutions of Tajikistan with teaching staff and adapted textbooks and teaching aids remains topical,” he said and noted that his country relies on the assistance of Russian parliamentarians in the training and retraining of teachers in Tajikistan.
“We welcome the decision of the Russian side to build five Russian secondary schools in Tajikistan. We will sign an agreement on this project during the visit,” he said and expressed hope that the project will be implemented in the near future.
Labor migration
Emomali Rahmon noted that in this area there are open issues that need attention.
The simplification of procedures for registration and obtaining a work permit, determination of the legal status of family members of migrant workers are among them. “We also look forward to the next stage of the migration amnesty for our labor migrants,” he said.
Security issues
As Emomali Rahmon emphasized Tajikistan and Russia share a common interest in the security sphere, in combating global threats, including terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, manifestations of religious radicalism, and the activity of transnational organized criminal groups. The Russian Federation and Tajikistan are allies in solving these problems, he noted.
He pointed out that in the current situation special attention shall be paid to the issues of cooperation in the defense sphere and security.
According to him, military and military-technical cooperation between our countries is of particular importance. “The 201st Russian military base that is the largest Russian base abroad is the most important component of the collective security system in the region,” the President of Tajikistan emphasized.
Tajikistan is also counting on Russia's support in strengthening its defense capabilities. “We count on a more active implementation of the modernization program of our armed forces,” he said.
At the end of the meeting, the President of Tajikistan expressed the hope that all the issues raised at the meeting would be the subject of attention of the State Duma.
Russian Federation supports efforts to develop education in Russian
Viacheslav Volodin thanked Emomali Rahmon for the meeting in the State Duma and accepted the invitation to pay an official visit to Tajikistan.
The Chairman of the State Duma noted that ”the presidents of Tajikistan and Russia are doing a lot to strengthen relations between our countries, setting the dynamics of their development, including inter-parliamentary relations.“
Viacheslav Volodin stressed that ”Russia supports the efforts of Tajikistan to develop education in Russian.“
“We are ready to help with textbooks, teaching aids, and also to promote the development of skills of Tajik teachers of the Russian language, inter alia in Russian universities,” he said.
