DUSHANBE, November 12, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- On Tuesday November 11, outgoing Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Ramazan Abdulatipov gave a press conference in connection with the end of his tenure to Tajikistan.

He noted that Tajikistan was the most reliable partner of Russia.  Ambassador Abdulatipov said that practically all agreements singed between Russia and Tajikistan in October 2004 had been implemented except the agreement on completing the construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power station (HPS) singed between the Tajik government and Russia’s private company Russian Aluminum (RusAl).  “A government-to-government agreement should have been signed that time,” said the ambassador, “If we had invested funds [in the Roghun hydroelectricity project] under the auspices of our government that time, a couple of units of the Roghun HPS would have already been introduced into operation.”    

According to him, the Russian side has expressed its position on implementation of the Roghun hydroelectricity project precisely: “Give us our share and we will finance it.” 

On implementation of other agreements, Mr. Abdulatipov, in particular, noted that the Russian labor migration legislation had been significantly improved over the past 3½ years.  However, there are still many problems in this sphere.  One of the most important problem is attacks on Tajik labor migrants in Russia, he stressed.   

On the economic cooperation between the two countries, he noted that trade between Russia and Tajikistan had increased from US$339 million to US$1 billion over the past three and half years.  He noted that it was necessary to increase a two-way trade between the countries to US$2 billion in the coming two years.  

Ambassador Abdulatipov noted that the Sangtuda-1 hydroelectricity project was one of achievements in bilateral cooperation between Russia and Tajikistan.  “Tajiks now constitute 80 percent of technical staff,” he said, adding that oil-and-gas and mining sectors were promising directions of cooperation between the two countries.  According to him, Tajikistan will have been provided with its own natural gas by 2012.  

Russian diplomat also pointed to the necessity of improvement of work of ministries and organizations of both countries in expanding economic cooperation.  

He highly appraised the present level of humanitarian cooperation between the two countries, noting that three Russian Centers of Russia’s Russkiy Mir (Russian World) National Foundation had been opened in Tajikistan.  In all, eight such centers will be opened in the country, Abdulatipov said.  

Ambassador Abdulatipov noted that President Emomali Rahmon would pay a visit to Moscow in the near future.