Transcript of the beginning of the negotiations:
Emomali Rahmon: Mr Putin, my friend. Ladies and gentlemen. I’m sincerely pleased to meet with you today. Let me first express my warmest gratitude for everything you have done for the development of the Tajik-Russian strategic partnership. Thanks to your efforts, our relations have become more harmonised and have been elevated to a qualitatively new level – the level of implementing large-scale joint projects in various areas unparalleled in the countries of the former Soviet Union.
Our military and political ties have strengthened significantly. These ties are characterised by the highest level of mutual trust and shared interest in security and stability in Central Asia and all adjoining regions.
Mr Putin, before discussing specific aspects of our cooperation, I’d first like you to speak your mind on the state of our cooperation and prospects for the future.
Vladimir Putin: Mr Rahmon. Thank you for the time you found to meet with us today. Indeed, Russia and Tajikistan are closely tied by bonds of friendship. Our relations have strengthened significantly over the past few years. Our mutual trust is clearly evidenced by the cooperation between our military agencies and the presence of a full-fledged Russian military base in Tajikistan that has been operating with your direct support for a long time. I believe that this is an important factor in the region’s stability. I’m referring to the complicated processes that are still unfolding in Afghanistan. As for Central Asia on the whole, we still have to do a lot for people to feel confident, calm, and safely protected.
Our trade and economic relations are developing fruitfully. Unfortunately, as in most cases, our relations were hit by the global financial and economic crisis, but they are recovering consistently.
We have been implementing a number of large projects and have successfully completed some of them. Naturally, I’m referring above all to energy projects, above all those related to electric power production. I’m convinced that there are many other areas in which we can be just as successful as in achieving the goals we previously set.
I would like to thank you for the opportunity to hold a meeting of SCO heads of government today and for the attention you attach to the development of Russian-Tajik relations. Thank you.