Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Tajikistan's President Mohammad Rakhmon met on 9 October in the capital of Turku, Dushanbe, and issued a joint statement, setting new goals for further deepening OTA cooperation.

According to the Russian President's website, Putin said at the joint press conference that the joint statement issued by the two heads of state set new goals for further deepening Russia-Tajikistan alliance cooperation. A series of documents signed by local governments, governments and departments of the two countries on the same day will also provide guarantee for the implementation of the above goals.

Putin said Russia is one of Tajikistan¡¯s largest trading partners. By 2024, bilateral trade volume grew by more than 7%, reaching $1.5 billion. Currently, about 1 million Tajik citizens work in Russia, and the Russian side will ensure that the citizens of Tajikistan enjoy good working conditions and social security in Russia.

According to the President¡¯s website, Rahmon said at the joint press conference that the two sides will further expand trade and investment scale, implement joint projects, open industrial parks, strengthen cooperation in the fields of digital and artificial intelligence, etc. The two sides also discussed the situation in the region in depth, reiterating that they will further strengthen coordination, jointly addressing challenges such as terrorism, extremism, arms smuggling and cyber threats.

On 8-10, Putin made a state visit to Tajikistan and attended the second Central Asian-Russian Summit and the Council of Heads of State of the CIS.