Moscow, Dushanbe to sign several important bilateral documents during Putin's visit to Tajikistan
DUSHANBE. Oct 5 (Interfax) - Russia and Tajikistan are set to sign a number of important bilateral documents on Friday, which will benefit both countries equally, Tajik Foreign Ministry spokesman Davlat Nazriyev told journalists on Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Dushanbe on Thursday evening. On Friday, he will hold talks with his Tajik counterpart Emomali Rahmon.
"Tajik-Russian relations are based on principles of strategic partnership and are determined by fundamental intergovernmental agreements," Nazriyev said at the news conference.
"Tajikistan and Russia have close or absolutely identical positions on most of the fundamental international and regional political issues, he said.
In particular, Putin and Rahmon are expected to discuss security in the region.
The two presidents should visit the 201st Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan, which numbers about 7,000 servicemen.
The current agreement on the base's deployment will expire in 2014.
"During the Russian president's official visit, a broad range of issues will be discussed concerning bilateral cooperation in the economy, trade, industry, power, security and labor migration areas. These issues are important to both countries, and the expected signature of bilateral agreements in these areas would be beneficial to all our people," he said.
Dushanbe also expects the signing of agreements concerning migrant workers. About 1 million Tajik migrant workers currently work in Russia, and the volume of their money transfers from Russia to Tajikistan is estimated at making up over 40% of Tajikistan's GDP.
"The parties are considering a number of draft documents aimed at settling social and legal issues of migrant workers, including the extension of their stay [in Russia]. Their adoption would help develop mechanisms of migrants' employment and improve protection of their rights," Nazriyev said.
Russia is also expected to continue cooperation with Tajikistan in developing its hydropower sector. Russia's major foreign investment project in this industry, the Sangtuda-1 Hydropower Plant, in which Moscow invested 16 billion rubles, was commissioned in 2009. It was reported earlier that Russia could start building one or several middle-size and small hydropower plants on internal rivers in Tajikistan.
