RUSSIA, March 2 - The Prime Minister delivered his remarks at the plenary session of the conference held in Dushanbe on March 2–3.

Mikhail Mishustin’s remarks:

Mr Rasulzoda, ladies and gentlemen.

First of all, I would like to personally thank respected President Emomali Rahmon and Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda for the warm welcome that the Russian delegation received and for the excellent organisation of such a significant and large event as today’s forum.

The conference is being held for the ninth time and has over 1,000 participants. Representatives from 16 Russian regions and more than 200 companies have come to Dushanbe. This reaffirms our mutual interest in promoting cooperation in various fields.

Russia and Tajikistan have strong relations of strategic partnership and alliance.

Trade and economic cooperation are developing dynamically. By the end of last year, trade had increased 18 percent to $1.5 billion. This is a record figure for the past 20 years, but it is still not a lot.

Russia ranks among the leading investors in Tajikistan. Total investment volumes exceed $1.5 billion.

Russian companies are operating in basic economic sectors, including the construction and power sectors, in industry, communications and financial services. We are increasing our cooperation in healthcare, education and tourism. All of our ministers in charge of these areas are here today.

We are expanding industrial cooperation in various fields, including light industry, mining and metals processing. We are ready to launch joint ventures that will facilitate the complete production cycle in the interests of Russia and Tajikistan.

Interaction between regions has become a basic part of deeper trade and economic, science and technological, cultural and humanitarian ties between our countries.

Today, 70 regions in the Russian Federation maintain direct contacts with the republic’s regions and districts and, of course, with the capital of Tajikistan. Moscow, St Petersburg, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, and the Astrakhan, Nizhny Novgorod, Chelyabinsk and Yaroslavl regions are the most active.

We are constantly upgrading the regulatory framework, and we have signed over 80 agreements and memorandums on cooperation in the most diverse spheres. Mutual visits of business missions have become a good practice. I do not doubt that by launching cooperation between businesspeople and by involving more regions, we will be able to implement new and promising projects. Today’s conference makes it possible to study and discuss these ideas in detail.

Dear friends!

We are working in a complicated environment, amid global economic turbulence and geo-strategic tensions that influence all aspects of our activity. Various factors contribute to this state of affairs, including systemic mistakes in the financial and economic policies of the Western countries, aggravated geopolitical disagreements and contradictions and the introduction of unilateral and illegitimate sanctions against Russia by the United States and its allies.

We are successfully countering this pressure, and we are maintaining economic stability and resilience despite the negative forecasts. We are taking action to stabilise the situation on the labour market. We are supporting our citizens and companies. Our businesses are reorganising logistics and refocusing on working with responsible and reliable partners.

More to be posted soon.