DUSHANBE, May 16, Asia-Plus — Unidirectional labor migration, when nearly 100 percent of labor migrants leave for Russia, negatively impacts Tajikistan, Saodat Olimova, the head of the public onion service of the research Center Sharq, remarked in training seminar formally titled “Labor Migration: Information-Analytical Support for Migration Processes in Tajikistan” that was held in Dushanbe on May 16.
“This makes Tajikistan fully dependent on Russia, while global tendencies show that the most profitable migration is the diversified migration,” said Olimova, “There should be five or six alternative countries, where our guest workers could go for work.”
According to her, over the past 10-12 years Tajik labor migration has become a part of Russia’s economy. “If in 2001, some 84 percent of a total number of Tajik labor migrants leaving the country worked in the Russian Federation, in 2004 this index increased to 97.8 percent,” Tajik expert said.
She added that since 1995, migration flows from Tajikistan to other CIS countries have decreased and since that time, Russia has become the main migration partner of Tajikistan. According to her, decline in migration flows to other CIS countries has resulted from tightening of border control, order of staying.
Besides, the migrants’ chief motivation for choosing a destination country is the expectation of higher potential, according to her. Another most important pull factor for the labor migrants is a favorable labor market in the receiving country, i.e. stable demand for foreign labor.
The training seminar was staged by employment and social security department of President’s Executive Office and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mission in Tajikistan.
