Tajik Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda met with his Russia counterpart Vladimir Kolokoltsev in Moscow on October 9.
According to the Tajik Interior Ministry’s press center, the two discussed issues related to jointly combating terrorism, extremism and drug trafficking as well as detaining wanted persons.
Rahimzoda and Kolokoltsev reportedly also discussed the issue of amnesty on Tajik labor migrants deported from Russia for violations of immigration law.
Recall, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon discussed the issue of revoking travel bans slapped on hundreds of thousands of aspiring labor migrants during his an official visit to Moscow in April this year. Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly instructed the Interior Minister to begin addressing the issue.
A joint declaration released on April 17, at the close of Tajik leader’s two-day visit, alludes to creating “favorable living and labor conditions for Tajik citizens in Russia and Russian citizens in Tajikistan through the proper implementation of relevant legislation.” No mention was made of any amnesty.
Prior to the 2017 agreement, around 400,000 Tajik nationals were reportedly barred from entering Russia. That figure is now around 240,000, according to nongovernmental organizations that work on migration issues.
Meanwhile, a joint board meeting of the Interior Ministries of Tajikistan and the Russian Federation that took place in Moscow on October 8 discussed issues related to further expansion of cooperation between the investigative subdivisions of the interior ministries of the two countries during the preliminary investigation of criminal cases and measures to improve bilateral cooperation to prevent, reveal and solve crimes related to drug trafficking.
The meeting participants also endorsed the plan of actions for 2020.
