DUSHANBE, December 7, Asia-Plus -- The first session of Tajik-Russian joint commission for labor migration opens in Moscow today, according to Ministry of Labor and Social Security.   

A source at the ministry’s department for international ties said that the meeting is aiming to consider mechanisms of the implementation of a bilateral agreement on labor and protection of rights of labor migrants.  The Agreement on Labor and Protection of Rights of Tajik Citizens in Russia and Rights of Russian Citizens in Tajikistan was signed in Dushanbe during President Putin’s visit to Tajikistan in October 2004.   

“Russian parliament ratified the agreement only in December last year, while Tajik parliamentarians ratified it in January 2005,” the source said, noting that the sides will also project a plan of joint actions for 2007.   

First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Security Sumangul Taghoyeva heads the Tajik delegation participating in the meeting’s work.  The Tajik working group for labor migration, set up in August this year, includes representatives from president’s executive office, migration service, and ministries of interior, labor and foreign affairs and other organizations dealing with migration issues. 

The Russian working group is headed by Vyacheslav Podstavin, deputy director of Russia’s Federal Migration Service.