This year marks the 31st anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Tajikistan. During this time, relations between the two countries have reached the level of strategic partnership, including in the framework of work in joint integration associations – the CIS, the CSTO and the SCO.
The current year 2023 has been declared by President Emomali Rahmon as the Year of the Russian Language in Tajikistan. According to Andrei Rusakov, Director of the Centre for European-Asian Studies (Russia, Ekaterinburg), the international turbulence that has begun has led not only to a sharp increase in trade turnover between Russia and Tajikistan, which exceeded one billion dollars in 2022 and is actively heading towards two, but also to cooperation on overcoming new challenges – issues of global warming, water allocation and security. These topics were discussed at the recent Fifth Consultative Meeting of Heads of State of Central Asia, chaired by Emomali Rakhmon in mid-September:
– According to the results of the past 2022, mutual trade turnover between Tajikistan and Russia has increased dramatically and reached more than one billion 200 million dollars, having every chance to exceed the mark of two billion dollars by the end of 2023. It goes without saying that this “second breath” of mutual co-operation has become a kind of response to the economic restriction of the countries of the collective West against the economy of the Russian Federation. Tajikistan was not left out of the global topics discussed at the recent BRICS Heads of State Summit in Johannesburg. Experts from the Centre for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan have come to the conclusion that the republic would benefit from the BRICS countries abandoning the use of the dollar in mutual settlements. Given that Tajikistan is actively cooperating with Russia and China, a switch to roubles and yuan or an alternative BRICS currency in international trade would help expand bilateral economic ties. One of the largest Russian online platforms “Wildberries” in the middle of this year announced the possibility of launching its service in the format of “marketplace” in Tajikistan. According to statistics, more than three million labour migrants came from Tajikistan to Russia last year, whose remittances to their home country account for up to one-third of Tajikistan’s GDP. During a meeting in August this year, Russian and Tajik Interior Ministers Vladimir Kolokoltsev and Ramazon Rakhimzoda discussed in Moscow the observance of the rights and obligations of migrant workers. This largely defused the negative information background in some Tajik media outlets, which was formed in connection with inspections of compliance with migration legislation by Russian law enforcement agencies.
The trilateral meeting of the presidents of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan in Ashgabat in August was largely devoted to resolving the most complex issues of water resource use in Central Asia, where the Aral Sea, the continent’s biggest environmental disaster, is already drying up. The decision by the unrecognised Taliban government in Afghanistan to build the Kosh-Tepa canal will result in the diversion of 15 to 20 per cent of water from the shrinking Amu Darya, which could lead to an even greater scarcity of water resources in Central Asia and an increase in the number of conflicts on this ground. Practice shows that any complex negotiations are easier to conduct in the presence of a disinterested and authoritative mediator, which could be Russia, with which all Central Asian countries have strong and friendly relations.
Security issues, including on the Tajik-Afghan border, are also in the focus of attention of the political leadership of Tajikistan and Russia. In accordance with a mutual agreement, a joint regional air defence system of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan has been established, which has become part of the air defence system of the CIS member States. In April this year, joint Russian-Tajik exercises were held in the Khatlon region of Tajikistan, close to the Tajik-Afghan border, to eliminate illegal armed groups in mountainous terrain. According to Colonel General Anatoly Sidorov, head of the CSTO Joint Staff, documents on the military equipment of the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan are being finalised. At the same time, Anatoly Sidorov noted that Russian nuclear weapons do not threaten anyone, but, on the contrary, are a guarantor of security for all CSTO countries, including Tajikistan.
For several years now, Russia and Tajikistan have been implementing a joint programme to build and equip Russian-language schools, as well as a project for Russian teachers to work in Tajik schools. In March this year, the Ministers of Education and Science of Russia and Tajikistan, Valery Falkov and Rakhimjon Saidzoda, signed an agreement on mutual recognition of academic degrees and titles, which will greatly facilitate educational and scientific cooperation. Already in the coming year 2023-2024, 1,000 places in Russian universities have been allocated for Tajik applicants under the quota of the Russian Government. President Emomali Rahmon declared 2023 the Year of the Russian Language in Tajikistan as part of the opening of five Russian schools in Tajikistan.
In mid-September, the Fifth Anniversary Consultative Meeting of the Heads of Central Asian States and the regular meeting of the Council of Heads of Founding States of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea were held in Dushanbe under the chairmanship of Emomali Rakhmon. Within the framework of these events, Tajikistan prepared a rich programme of events – an exhibition of commodity producers of Central Asian countries, an economic forum, the Second Forum of university rectors, an international youth forum and much more. With this event, Tajikistan has assumed one of the leading functions in the region, which is important for Russia as one of its strategic partners.
Andrey Rusakov, Director of the Centre for European-Asian Studies from Ekaterinburg
Due to censorship and blocking of all media and alternative views, stay tuned to our Telegram channel