President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, I am very pleased to have the opportunity to meet with you bilaterally on the sidelines of today’s event.
The breadth of our relations makes such meetings valuable. Indeed, we are in regular contact, with frequent interactions between our government colleagues. We always reach out to each other when needed and maintain communication by phone when required.
This year, we have had numerous personal contacts, including today’s meeting and several upcoming events in Tajikistan, in which we are preparing to participate. There is a broad range of topics that are of shared interest to both sides.
Of course, the primary focus remains our economic cooperation. I am pleased to note that trade turnover continues to grow steadily. Investment issues on both sides are ongoing and remain concentrated in key areas of development. This progress is very encouraging, and I am naturally glad to have the opportunity to meet with you today.
President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon: Thank you, Mr Putin, for meeting with me on the sidelines of the SCO summit.
I would like to briefly touch on preparations for three significant upcoming events in Dushanbe: the Central Asia–Russia summit, the CIS summit which is of paramount importance, and the state visit, and provide an update on how the preparations are progressing.
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