Moscow, November 21 – Thirty years ago, Russia and Tajikistan signed an agreement on friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance. This served as one of the reasons for President Emomali Rahmon’s visit to Moscow, where he was received by President Putin in the Kremlin. The main focus of the meeting between the two leaders was Russia’s role as Tajikistan’s main economic partner, accounting for 22.9% of its foreign trade turnover and with investments totaling $1.6 billion. There are over 300 enterprises in Tajikistan with Russian capital, and the share of the ruble in commercial transactions has reached 83%. Last year, five Russian-language schools were opened in the Central Asian republic, and Putin announced that Russia would allocate $200 million annually for textbooks for these schools. Moscow has also increased the quota for Tajikistani students from 900 to 1000. President Rahmon expressed his pleasure at the meeting and emphasized that he had come primarily to discuss security issues, particularly those related to Afghanistan. Putin assured Rahmon that Moscow would continue to develop bilateral cooperation based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and consideration of each other’s interests. The Russian leader acknowledged that the significant achievements in Russian-Tajikistani relations in politics, economics, science, education, and culture were directly linked to Rahmon’s active position and support for these areas. Following the negotiations, Putin awarded Rahmon the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” of the third degree. The delegations also signed a memorandum of cooperation between the ministries of both countries. At Vnukovo Airport, Rahmon was greeted by a military orchestra and a procession of 30 cars. He laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier near the Kremlin walls, and the national anthem of Tajikistan was played after a minute of silence. Tonight, Putin may receive Rahmon at his Kremlin residence. Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov did not rule out this possibility, citing the close and long-standing friendship between the two leaders and the multitude of topics they could discuss. Rahmon will depart Moscow tomorrow for the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in Minsk. Stanislav Pritchin, a senior researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, noted that Rahmon arrived in Moscow with practically the entire government. In recent times, Russian officials of various ranks have regularly visited Dushanbe, and cooperation has been actively developing at the political and administrative levels. Pritchin believes that there are no major military threats emanating directly from Afghanistan at the moment. However, the Taliban’s digging of the Kosh-Tepa canal, which could leave Central Asia without water, is a cause for concern and a topic of discussion between Rahmon and Moscow. The possibility of Tajikistan joining the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) may also have been discussed, although it was not publicly mentioned. This issue is particularly relevant today as Moscow has banned the export of fuel outside the economic union, and Dushanbe heavily depends on Russian supplies. Vladimir Zharihin, Deputy Head of the Institute of CIS Countries, pointed out the Eastern splendor of the visit and noted Tajikistan’s loyalty to the Russian language. He listed several reasons for this, including the lack of technical documentation in Tajik, the presence of many Tajikistani workers in Russia, and the fact that European culture reaches Tajikistan primarily through Russia. However, in his opinion, Tajikistan is not yet ready to join the EAEU, partly due to doubts in Dushanbe regarding the abolition of customs duties.
