DUSHANBE, December 2, 2014, Asia-Plus -- Tajik and Russian experts gathered in Moscow at the end of last week for consultations on a joint drafting of labor migration cooperation agreements.

Ibrohim Ahmadov, a spokesman for the Tajik migration service agency’s office in Moscow, says the Tajik delegation members included representatives of the Migration Service, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Justice and the State Committee for National Security (SCNS), and the delegation was led by Nuroullo Mahmadulloyev, Deputy Minister of Labor, Migration and Employment of Population.

The Russian delegation was led by Oleg Artamonov, Head of the Department for International Cooperation, Russia’s Migration Federation Service (FMS).

The two sides reportedly discussed a draft government-to-government agreement between Tajikistan and Russia on the organized recruitment of migrant workers in Tajikistan and a draft government-to-government between the two countries agreement on readmission.

Both sides endorsed the documents and agreed to carry out additional consultations on the mentioned agreements in the first half-year of 2015, Ahmadov said.

We will recall that Tajikistan and the Russian Federation have signed two labor migration cooperation agreements so far.

On October 5, 2012, the Migration Service under the Government of Tajikistan and Russia’s Federal Migration Service (FMS) signed in Dushanbe the memorandum of intent on easing some of the registration restrictions for Tajik migrant workers coming to Russia.

On February 8, 2013, the Migration Service under the Government of Tajikistan and Russia’s Federal Migration Service (FMS) signed in Moscow the agreement on staying of Tajik nationals in the Russian Federation.  The agreement, in particular, provides for extending the period for registration for Tajik nationals on their arrival in Russia from seven to fifteen days.

Labor migrants remain a critical component in the economy of Tajikistan and their remittances keep many families in the country above the poverty line.