DUSHANBE, August 26, Asia-Plus  -- Visiting Russian speaker Sergey Mironov has characterized the situation in Tajikistan in connection with the upcoming presidential election set for November as stable.   

“Tajikistan has its own leader – it is the incumbent head of state – and multi-party existing in the republic meets democratic principles,” Chairman of Russia’s Council of Federation (Russia’s upper chamber of parliament), Sergey Mironov, told journalists in Dushanbe on August 25 following his meeting with President Emomali Rahmonov.  

According to him, “Russian has no question to Tajikistan on its democratic and political system.”

Russian speaker noted that they had a good and open conversation to discuss a broad range of issues related to bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the Russian Federation.  Further expansion of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries figured prominently in their discussion, according to him.  

Sergey Mironov expressed hope that Tajik-Russian inter-parliament forum held in the Tajik capital would promote further expansion of relationships between the two countries.  

He also noted that there were certain difficulties in registration and protection of rights of Tajik labor migrants in Russia.  According to him, Tajikistan and Russia should expand bilateral humanitarian cooperation.   “Many enterprises of defense-industrial complex operated in Tajikistan in the Soviet, era and today, it is necessary to consider the possibility of participation of Russia in rehabilitation of production at them,” Sergey Mironov stressed.  

He also pointed to the necessity of expanding bilateral cooperation in the energy sector.