DUSHANBE, September 26, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- The entry to the Customs Union is of great importance for development of Tajikistan’s economy and Tajik people’s wellbeing.

Russian Ambassador to Tajikistan Yuri Popov remarked this in Dushanbe today while delivering a statement at a roundtable entitled “The Customs Union and Tajikistan: New Prospects of Integration.”

“It is clear that Tajikistan may join the Customs Union only after Kyrgyzstan’s accession to the Union, but this issue is extremely topical already today,” said Ambassador Popov.  “This issue has already been discussed in Tajikistan at the different levels.  Many experts say Tajikistan will only benefit from joining the union.”

According to him, suffice it to say that citizens of the Customs Union member nations can stay in the Russian Federation for up to 30 days without registration.

He noted that nationals of countries that were not members of the Customs Union could stay in Russian without registration for not more than seven days.

“Such an easing will be of great significance for hundreds of thousands of Tajik labor migrants working in the Russian Federation,” Ambassador Popov noted.

He added that prospects of Tajikistan’s joining the Customs Union would be discussed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Tajikistan in early October.