DUSHANBE, October 24, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- President Emomali Rahmon’s state visit to Russia concluded and he returned to Dushanbe Friday evening, according to presidential press service.

On October 21, President Rahmon and his Russian counterpart, President Dmitry Medvedev, had an informal meeting at the Moscow regional presidential residence Barvikha.

On October 22, the presidents held talks in the Kremlin.  A welcome ceremony of the Tajik president at the St. George Hall at the Grand Kremlin Palace envisaged under the format of Rahmon’s state visit in Moscow preceded the negotiations of the presidents.  After the ceremony the presidents had an eye-to-eye meeting and then the negotiations continued involving the delegations of the countries.

Speaking at a news conference after the talks in the Kremlin, Dmitry Medvedev called bilateral ties "friendly" and "those of allies."  "We have analyzed the results of the development of our relations recently, and discussed economic projects, military cooperation, and humanitarian projects," he said.  Medvedev also pledged measures to facilitate migration rules for hundreds of thousands of Tajiks working in Russia.

The presidents issued a joint statement after the talks pledging to step up military cooperation, highlighting the Russian base''s role for security in the region, and ordering agencies in the two countries to accelerate natural gas prospecting in Tajikistan.

Presidential press service reported that on October 23, President Rahmon met with staff teaching and students at M.V Lomonosov Moscow State University.

The same day, Emomali Rahmon met with 300 fellow-countrymen living and working in the Russian Federation.  The meeting participants exchanged views on ways of solving problem facing Tajik labor migrants in the Russian Federation.

It was already the fifth meeting of President Rahmon with Tajiks staying in Russia, the press service said.  During his previous visits to Russia, Tajik leader had held similar meetings in Kazan, Moscow, Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg.