DUSHANBE, December 4, 2009, Asia-Plus – State and prospects of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Russia in the field of agriculture were the focus of a meeting of Tajik Minister of Agriculture Qosim Qosimov with Russian Trade Representative to Tajikistan Aleksandr Yakovlev that was held in Dushanbe on December 3, according to press service of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).
Qosimov, in particular, noted that Tajikistan has exported some 150 tons of farm produce to the CIS states, primarily Russia, over the first ten months of this year.
In the course of the talks, Tajik minister offered launching joint ventures in Tajikistan for processing farm produce, producing and exporting honey, as well as developing poultry and mountain fishery in Tajikistan.
Russian trade representative, for his part, noted that Russia has invested some one billion U.S. dollars in Tajikistan’s economy, including agrarian sector, this year, the MoA press service said.
According to him, Tajik farm produce exports to Russia have been increasing from year to year. Tajikistan has exported more than US$17 million worth of onions alone to Russia this year. Mr. Yakovlev also pointed to the necessity of improving conditions for realization of Tajikistan’s agricultural products at Russian markets. “It is necessary to implement the Green Corridor program fro this,” he said.
Russian trade representative added that Russia’s open joint-stock company (OJSC), Rosselkhozbank (Russian Agricultural Bank or RAB) was expected to open its branch in Dushanbe in the near future. He noted that RAB’s branch would provide new business opportunities both in the areas of banking and agribusiness operations, financing different agricultural programs and giving loans, etc.
In this connection, Qosimov noted that Tajik MoA had developed 36 investment aimed to enhance the agrarian sector in the country.
