DUSHANBE, December 7, Asia-Plus  -- State and prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and Russia were major topic of a meeting of President Emomali Rahmon with visiting Chairman of Russia’s Chamber of Accounts Sergey Stepashin that was held in Dushanbe Thursday afternoon.  

Speaking to journalists after a meeting with President Rahmon, Stepashin said that he had informed the Tajik head of state of a joint work carried out on the Sangtuda-1 hydropower plant and plans of actions, connected with construction of the plant, for the next year.  

“Besides we discussed a broad range of issues related to bilateral cooperation between Russia and Tajikistan in the fields of trade and economy, including the Roghun hydroelectricity project,” said Stepashin, “Tajik leader stressed once again that he is interested in participation of Russia in this ambitious project and waiting for a draft agreement on the Roghun project from Russia.”  

 During the meeting it was noted that Russia has been and remains the most reliable strategic partner of Tajikistan.  

“What has been done to date is just the beginning of our serious cooperation in all fields – military, economic, political and foreign economic,” the Russian official said, adding that Russia’s Chamber of Accounts and Tajikistan’s Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption would also cooperate in combating corruption. 

Asked about the so-called “velvet re-privatization” in Russia, Stepashin said there was nothing of this kind.  “There is no any velvet re-privatization, the state is just returning its positions there, where it lost them in early 1990s,” said Stepashin, “We are currently establishing large national and private-national companies that is to say that we do what the whole world does”