DUSHANBE, 05.02.2019. (NIAT Khovar) – President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon received the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov in Dushanbe earlier this morning.

Following the meeting, the Russian Foreign Minister held a briefing for local media representatives.

“During the meeting with President Emomali Rahmon, the whole complex of bilateral relations of alliance and strategic partnership was discussed and their ongoing development was stated. It was noted that trade, economic and investment cooperation are on the rise. The turnover increased by almost three time last year,” said Lavrov.

“A regular meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation will be held soon, where new projects, including in the energy sector, will be considered. The Tajik side and Russian economic operators are interested in this,» he continued.

“During the meeting with the President of Tajikistan, we noted the need to intensify the development of interaction tools in the field of agriculture. The agreement of the two presidents to create a ‘green corridor’ for the import of Tajik agricultural products is being implemented and will soon become a practice. Negotiations are underway to create a wholesale distribution center, which will also contribute to a more efficient passage of customs procedures for the supply of Tajik products to the Russian market,» noted Lavrov.

The discussion also focused on military-technical cooperation. The full implementation of the program for the modernization of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan was also noted.

Much attention was paid to discussing interactions in the humanitarian, cultural and educational spheres.

“We noted the continued interest of the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon to maintain the status of the Russian language at a good level. We really appreciate this attitude. Thousands of Tajik citizens study in Russian universities. At the initiative of President Emomali Rahmon, in addition to the Russian-Tajik (Slavic) University operating in Dushanbe, great attention is now being paid to secondary education in Russian. According to the agreement of our leaders, more than 50 Russian teachers of Russian language, physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, and computer science work in Tajikistan, helping to promote Russian standards in the educational system of Tajikistan. Also, by agreement of the two presidents, the preparation of documents on the construction of five schools in Tajikistan, which will work under the Russian program, is being completed,” explained Lavrov.

The situation in Central Asia, in particular the terrorist threats and illicit drug trafficking that are persist because of Afghanistan, were discussed.

The cooperation on ensuring the security of the two states is closely carried out. Tajikistan is actively working as an outpost of the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

“In general, I think that we had very useful negotiations. I am grateful to the President for the attention that was paid to our delegation,” concluded Lavrov.

This morning Lavrov laid flowers at the monument of the founder of the Tajik state Ismail Somoni on Dusti Square in the center of Dushanbe.