DUSHANBE, October 5, Asia-Plus -- President Emomali Rahmon today held bilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin, ahead of a CIS summit.

The two discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation between Tajikistan and the Russian Federation within the framework of integrated organizations, namely the CIS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), European Economic Community (EAEC), as well as issues of military and military-technical cooperation, interaction in the energy sector, the situation in the Central Asian region and the situation with Afghanistan. 

In the course of the talks President Putin noted that construction of the Sangtuda-1 hydropower plant was a good background of continuation of cooperation between the two countries on other hydropower facilities of Tajikistan.   

The presidents also exchanged views on draft agreement on completing the construction of the Roghun hydropower plant proposed by the Russian government and ways of continuing to construct this important hydropower facility.   

President Rahmon, for his part, said that Russia was strategic partner of Tajikistan and Tajikistan was supporter of further development of its relations with Russia.

Rahmon and Putin also considered issues related to regulation of labor migration and other issues being of mutual interest.   

In Tajikistan, President Putin is accompanied by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Naryshkin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, acting Security Council Secretary Valentin Sobolev, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev, Vladimir Pronichev, chief of the Border Directorate of Federal Security Service (FSB), and Federal Migration Service (FNS) chief Konstantin Romodanovsky.