DUSHANBE, March 9, Asia-Plus - On Thursday March 9, a Tajik delegation led by the Minister of Labor and Social Security Zokir Vazirov left for the Kazakh capital of Astana for a two-day working visit. 

According to information from the Labor Ministry’s press service, inter-agency negotiations on coordination of a government-to-government agreement between Tajikistan and Kazakhstan on legalization of migrant workers and protection of their rights will be held in Astana from March 10-11.  

The source says the agreement between Tajikistan and Kazakhstan on legalization of labor migrants and protection of their rights is supposed to be signed already this year.

During his stay in Kazakhstan the Tajik labor minister also intends to discuss with Kazakh authorities issues related to protecting rights of juridical entities from Tajikistan working in Kazakhstan . 

The Tajik delegation consists of representatives from the interior ministry, chief prosecutor’s office and migration services.   

According to information from the Kazakh Embassy in Dushanbe , about 8,000-9,000 migrant workers from Tajikistan are working in Kazakhstan .  

Labor migrants are a critical component in economy of Tajikistan .  Remittances keep many struggling families at home above the poverty line, and help to alleviate the stress caused by a lack of domestic job opportunities.  As it had been reported earlier, during his stay in Moscow in late February Tajik labor minister said that about 500,000 citizens of the Central Asian republic were working in Russia but only 10% of them were there legally.  Vazirov said Tajik families received an average of $100 a month from their relatives working in Russia .