DUSHANBE, June 4, 2015, Asia-Plus -- Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu arrived in Dushanbe yesterday afternoon for participation in a session of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member nations that is taking place here today.

On the same day, Shoygu visited the headquarters of the Russian military based deployed in Tajikistan.

According to Russian news agency TASS , Shoygu ordered to speed up construction of facilities of the base.

He, in particular, ordered that the base’s hospital should be introduced into operation by September 1, 2015.  Construction of the hospital began in 2007 and it was expected to be introduced into operation by the end of this year.

The minister ordered that construction of the base’s facilities should be taken under control of the Russian National Defense Management Center.

During his stay in Dushanbe, Shoygu is expected to hold talks with his Tajik counterpart Sherali Mirzo to discuss the process of implementing agreements reached between the two countries on the modernization of the Tajik national army, training of personnel for Tajikistan''s armed forces and on military and technical cooperation.

The Russian military base deployed in Tajikistan is Russia''s largest non-naval military facility outside the country.  It was officially opened in Tajikistan in 2004 under a previous agreement, which was signed in 1993, and hosts Russia’s largest military contingent deployed abroad.

A total of some 7,000 Russian troops are stationed at three military facilities collectively known as the 201st military base - in Dushanbe, Qurghon Teppa, some 100 kilometers from Dushanbe, and Kulob, about 200 kilometers southwest of Dushanbe.