Presidents of Tajikistan and Russia Emomali Rahmon and Vladimir Putin will discuss pressing issues of the migration policy and key topics of interaction in political, economic, military-political and cultural-humanitarian spheres, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters.
"The meeting will take place not far from St. Petersburg, in the Leningrad oblast, in the Igora resort facility. Our President will meet President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon there in the evening on December 24. It is anticipated to discuss key aspects of further development of bilateral relations in political, trade-economic, military-technical, cultural-humanitarian and other areas, and exchange opinions on current regional issues," Ushakov said.
"Certainly, acute issues in the migration sphere will also be discussed," the presidential aide added.
The heads of state will also consider joint work in the CIS, where Russia will chair in 2024 and in 2025 this post will be transferred to Tajikistan, according to Ushakov.
This year has been particularly tough for Tajik migrants, who have endured “collective punishment” following the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. There has been a sharp increase in discrimination, negativity, aggression, and overall disrespect towards the Tajik nation from Russia, the so-called “big brother.”
Since the terror attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall in March this year, the Kremlin has taken active steps to complicate the lives of migrant workers in Russia, further tightening legislation in what was already a hostile environment for outsiders.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon traveled to Russia for participation in a traditional informal CIS summit that will take place tomorrow at the initiative of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian president’s official website says all CIS leaders will meet on December 25. An informal meeting before the New Year is a long-standing tradition of the Commonwealth. This year will be no exception.
According to the program, at the summit Putin will sum up the results of Russia's chairmanship of the CIS in 2024. After that, "the leaders will be able to communicate with each other in an informal setting and exchange views on current international issues," the Kremlin said.
Emomali Rahmon and Vladimir Putin last met at the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Astana in November. They meet regularly, both one-on-one and in multilateral settings. In addition, the leaders have regular telephone conversations.
Russia is one of major trading partner of Tajikistan. In January-September of 2024, the bilateral trade between the two countries has valued at US$1.08 billion, which is 10.1 percent higher than in the same period last year. Russia is the second largest investor in Tajikistan's economy after China. Its volume is US$1.6 billion. Russia supplies about 90% of the needs of the local economy for oil products.
More than 36,000 students and postgraduates from Tajikistan study in Russian universities.
