Russia’s Tatarstan Republic is seeking expansion of trade and economic cooperation with Tajikistan.

The President of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, will arrive in Dushanbe on March 19 on a two-day official visit, according to the Tajik MFA information department.  

While in Dushanbe, Minnikhanov is scheduled to hold meetings with senior Tajik state officials to discuss cooperation issues.  

On February 28, Minnikhanov met with Tajik Ambassador to Russia, Imomuddin Sattorov, in Kazan.

Citing Ms. Liliya Galimova, a spokeswoman for the Kazan Kremlin, Tatar-Inform news agency reports the two sides discussed preparations for the upcoming visit of Tatarstan official delegation to Tajikistan.  

“Tatarstan is interested in seeking new sales markets for its mechanical engineering and petrochemical products and expanding trade and economic cooperation with Tajikistan,” Galimova was cited as saying by Tatar-Inform. 

Rustam Minnikhanov (born March 1, 1957) is a Russian politician and the second and current President of the Republic of Tatarstan, a federal subject of Russia. He graduated from Kazan Agricultural Institute in 1978 as mechanical engineer and from Correspondence Institute of Soviet Trade as a commodity expert in 1986.  He has scientific degree of Doctor of Sciences in Economics.  

The Republic of Tatarstan, or simply Tatarstan, is a federal subject (a republic) of the Russian Federation, located in the Volga Federal District.  Its capital is the city of Kazan.  The unofficial Tatarstan motto is Bez Buldırabız! (We can!).

Tatarstan is one of the most economically developed regions of Russia. The republic is highly industrialized and ranks second to Samara Oblast in terms of industrial production per square kilometer.  The region's main source of wealth is oil.  Tatarstan produces 32 million tons of crude oil per year and has estimated oil reserves of more than 1 billion tons.  Industrial production constitutes 45% of the republic's gross regional domestic product. The most developed manufacturing industries are petrochemical industry and machine building. The truck-maker KamAZ is the region's largest enterprise and employs about one-fifth of Tatarstan's workforce.  Kazanorgsintez, based in Kazan, is one of Russia's largest chemical companies. Tatarstan's aviation industry produces Tu-214 passenger airplanes and helicopters.  The Kazan Helicopter Plant is one of the largest helicopter manufacturers in the world.  Engineering, textiles, clothing, wood processing, and food industries are also of key significance in Tatarstan.