DUSHANBE, September 28, Asia-Plus — The Communist Party of Tajikistan (CPT) leader Shodi Shabdolov, who is also deputy of Tajikistan’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament, believes that the upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Tajikistan will not be “just a courtesy visit.” CPT leader says he expects tangible results from this visit.
In his opinion, if Russia does not take any effective steps to strengthen its relations with Central Asia’s countries, it will lose its positions in the region.
“It is not true that only the further presence of Russian military base in Tajikistan, problems facing Tajik labor migrants working in the Russian Federation and restoration of the tax-free status for the Russian oil products exported to Tajikistan will be raised at the meeting,” said Shabdolov. “Russia finally began to realize that enhancement of Tajikistan’s energy sector may promise contracts running into billions to Russia’s planning institutions and enterprises dealing with production of hydropower equipment and participation of Russia in implementation of projects such as construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP) and Central Asia South Asia Electricity Trade and Transmission Project (CASA 1000) will strengthen its positions in the region.”
According to him, the sides must also discuss further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the Russian Federation in sectors like science, culture, and education.
Meanwhile, Ms. Galiya Rabiyeva, the chairperson of the fraction of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament), thinks that the upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Tajikistan should relieve a certain tension in relationships between the two countries. It concerns, first of all, military and military-technical cooperation between Tajikistan and Russia, Rabiyeva noted.
“Well-balanced policy the Russian leader now demonstrates enables us to hope that his visit to Dushanbe will be for the benefit of both nations,” Ms. Rabiyeva said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to pay an official visit to Dushanbe on October 5. The sides are expected to discuss a broad range of issues related to bilateral cooperation between the two countries, including trade, culture and security. Putin and Rahmon will also exchange views on a number of regional issues being of mutual interest. The negotiations are expected to result in signing of a number of bilateral documents.
The Kremlin’s press office says it will be the second meeting of Vladimir Putin and Emomali Rahmon this year.
