During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tajikistan, an agreement between the Ministry of Labor, Migration and Employment of the Population of Tajikistan and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Russia for cooperation on labor and employment was signed in Dushanbe on February 27.
During the talks between the leaders of the two countries, strong focus has reportedly been placed on bolstering options on the labor migration front and Rahmon and Putin have agreed to take specific measures to expand cooperation between their countries in the field of labor migration, including improvement of legal mechanisms regulating labor migration, creation of adequate social conditions for labor migrants, organized recruitment of labor migrants in Tajikistan, and exchange of information on migration issues.
Putin, in particular, told reporters that the Russian government was considering a revision on a ban of Tajik citizens barred from traveling to Russia for one or other reason.
“We discussed this. And overall a solution has been found and we will work in line with an agreement reached with the president of Tajikistan,” Russian president said.
Meanwhile, Tajik Deputy Minister of Labor, Migration and Employment of the Population, Nourullo Mahmadullozoda, believes that the agreement for cooperation on labor and employment will give a new impulse to expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and Russia in the field of labor migration.
“We will train our labor migrants so that they could enter better-paid areas of Russia’s labor market,” the deputy minister said.
As far as the issue of revision on the ban of Tajik citizens barred from traveling to Russia is concerned, more than 200,000 Tajik citizens may currently be affected by travel bans.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Igor Shuvalov, who traveled with the visiting Russian delegation, told reporters on February 27 that bans would likely be waived for those people that had committed only minor violations of migration laws.
“Those that committed crimes or were in some way involved in illegal activity will, of course, not be granted permission to enter,” Shuvalov said, according to Russia’s RIA Novosti agency.
According to figures from the Main Directorate for Migration Affairs in Moscow, there were almost 900,000 Tajik citizens living in Russia in late 2016. Tajiks reportedly comprise the second-largest contingent of labor migrants from Central Asia after Uzbekistan, which accounts for 2 million workers in the Russia’s economy.
