DUSHANBE, 10.10.2017 /NIAT “Khovar”/. On the sidelines of the CIS Council of Heads of State in Sochi, the Founder of Peace and National Unity – Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan His Excellency Emomali Rahmon met with President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.

The agenda covered current bilateral relations and prospects for developing cooperation between Tajikistan and Russia.

At the beginning of the meeting, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences and sympathy to President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon in connection with the demise of his brother Nuriddin Rahmon.

During the meeting the two sides noted that trade and economic sphere is the priority direction of cooperation between Tajikistan and Russia, and in light of this they expressed satisfaction with activities of the Russian-Tajikistani Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation.

The parties agreed to pay special attention to developing interregional cooperation. And, in light of this, the importance of providing Russian market with high-quality Tajik farm products was emphasized.

The head of state, Emomali Rahmon, pointed out that Tajikistan welcomes Russian companies for extraction and processing of minerals and will strive to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of light and heavy industry, mining and agriculture.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to further expand bilateral cooperation, in particular in the sphere of science and education.

President of the Republic of Tajikistan expressed satisfaction at the progress made in the implementation of agreements reached in the field of education and science. Emomali Rahmon noted that delivering of 62,000 copies of teaching aids in Russian language and the arrival of the first group of teachers in Tajikistan is a good initiative.

President of Tajikistan also expressed gratitude to the Russian side for carrying out a campaign to amnesty Tajik citizens who had previously been banned from entering Russia for violating the rules of stay in Russia.

The conversation also touched on the situation in Afghanistan, including combating international terrorism and extremism, ensuring regional security and stability.

The talks were held in a spirit of mutual understanding and sincerity.