President of Russia Vladimir Putin met with President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Bishkek.
On the Russian side, the meeting was attended by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, and Director General of State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev.
* * *
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Rahmon, I am delighted to see you.
We maintain regular contact and high level, high status of our relations – they are truly the relations of strategic partnership and alliance.
We are developing our economic ties. Our trade increased by 25 percent – 25.1 percent, to be precise – last year, and by another 25 percent in the first six months of this year. This is a very good trend, which cannot but please us. There are 320 companies with Russian capital in Tajikistan, and over 96 percent of all transactions are made in our national currencies.
Our intergovernmental commission is working actively. We are operating under the economic cooperation programme for 2024–2027, moving apace in accordance with the plan of joint measures aimed at increasing our mutual trade by 150 percent by 2030.
I would also like to mention our joint committed efforts on the humanitarian track. I remember how you and I opened five schools with Russian as the language of tuition in several cities of Tajikistan. This was done at your initiative, which I remember very well, and we are grateful to you for it. Today, 6,000 children are happily studying at these schools, as far as I know.
The Russian-Tajik (Slavonic) University is functioning in Dushanbe. Over 35,000 Tajik young people are studying at universities in Russia.
Last year, Days of Tajik Culture were held with great success in Moscow and Kazan, and Days of Russian Culture were held in Tajikistan in May 2026.
Of course, we are also cooperating in the field of security. We are aware of your concerns about the developments in the neighbouring country of Afghanistan, and we maintain close contacts with you on this and other security issues.
I am very pleased at this opportunity to meet and talk today.
President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon: Mr Putin, I am delighted to meet with you again.
It is gratifying that relations between our countries are developing positively and successfully in all spheres. Our trade and economic cooperation is stable, and a good level has been achieved in our security and humanitarian cooperation. The construction of a centre for gifted children and of the building of the Mayakovsky Russian Drama Theatre are proceeding at an accelerating pace.
I will be glad to discuss with you today our bilateral relations and their prospects, as well as international and regional issues.
<…>