DUSHANBE, January 23. /TASS/. Trade turnover between Tajikistan and Russia at the end of 2023 increased by 2.5% compared to 2022 surpassing $1.7 bln. Russia has become the country’s leading trading partner, according to data from the Statistics Agency under the President of Tajikistan.

According to the agency's data, which was made available to TASS, imports from Russia to Tajikistan totaled $1.58 bln from January to December 2023, while exports from the country totaled $134.7 bln. Trade with Russia accounted for 20.6% of Tajikistan's overall commercial turnover, the highest percentage among countries, according to the agency. At the end of 2022, trade turnover between the two countries exceeded $1.6 bln.

Kazakhstan ranked second in terms of trade volume among Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries behind Tajikistan, accounting for 13.8% of overall trade turnover. Exports to Kazakhstan totaled roughly $255.8 mln, while imports to Tajikistan totaled nearly $893 mln. At the same time, the statistics agency reported that trade turnover between Tajikistan and Kazakhstan fell by nearly 20% in 2023 compared to 2022.

Tajikistan conducted more than $500 mln in trade operations with neighboring Uzbekistan in 2023, 9.2% less than in 2022, and trade turnover with Kyrgyzstan declined by 22.5% reaching around $11.7 mln.

Tajikistan's trade volume with Armenia increased the most over the last year, by 2.5 times to $654,800, and by 30% with Moldova, with imports worth only around $230,000 were carried out from the country to Tajikistan, with no export operations. Turnover with Azerbaijan increased by 20% to around $7.5 mln. Tajikistan's trade turnover with Belarus rose by 5% in 2023, reaching around $93.9 mln.