DUSHANBE, April 17. /TASS/. Tajikistan’s president Emomali Rahmon stated that military-technical cooperation with Russia provides stability not just in the Central Asian region but beyond it as well. The president made this statement on Tuesday evening at a meeting in the Russian capital with representatives for the Tajikistani expatriate community and labor migrants and students from Tajikistan living in Russia.
"With regard to the current difficult situation, our fruitful military-technical cooperation with the Russian Federation provides stability not just in Tajikistan and the region but beyond it as well. <...> If there is stable peace and stability, then stable development and progress are possible in all other life activities," he said. Rahmon’s speech was published on his official website on Wednesday.
The largest Russian military installation outside the country - the 201st military base the units of which are stationed in the cities of Dushanbe and Bokhtar (former Kurganteppa) - is located in Tajikistan. According to an agreement signed in October 2012, the Russian military base will remain in Tajikistan until 2042, with an option to renew this term. "Military-technical cooperation is a priority area in interstate relations of the two countries and is regarded to be a very important one. This cooperation is broad-based at the bilateral and multilateral levels, including in the CIS and the CSTO," the Tajikistani state leader said.
Rahmon stressed that Russia "is Tajikistan’s reliable strategic partner" and noted that both countries established "mutually beneficial relations of cooperation that cover all spheres." He reported that Russia is one of Tajikistan’s main economic partners, in particular Russia remains the key trading partner of the republic: the volume of trade turnover between the two states in 2018 exceeded $1 billion. "The Russian Federation occupies a leading position in terms of investments in Tajikistan’s economy, including in the sphere of energy," the Tajikistani leader noted.
Humanitarian cooperation
Calling the humanitarian sphere an important component of bilateral cooperation, Rahmon noted that numerous cultural events take place in both countries which contribute to the further rapprochement of the peoples of Tajikistan and Russia, as well as the creation of an atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding. "The sphere of education is considered to be an important area of our cooperation. The number of Tajikistani students who study in various higher educational institutions across Russia and some of whom are present in this hall constitutes about 20,000 people. The Russian side annually allocates more than 600 quotas for the education of Tajikistani citizens," he said.
The Tajikistani president said that another important priority of bilateral cooperation is the development and extension of fruitful cooperation with Russian regions. The republic currently has regional ties with more than 70 Russian entities.