In his words, now some 600,000-800,000 Tajik labor migrants are in Russia. "Some 2% of them are illegal," said Mr. Nurgaliyev.
He noted that labor migrants from Tajikistan constituted a large part of Russia's labor force, and their number was growing. "I believe that this process on the whole is positive, mutually advantageous and necessary for our countries' economies to develop," said the minister.
The board participants discussed the problem of labor migration, said Tajik Interior Minister, Col.-Gen. Khumdin Sharipov. He called it "a problem that demands urgent resolution."
Besides, in his words, "the two countries' common headache is the fight against drug trafficking."
"For this year, our departments conducted several joint operations," said Mr. Sharipov.
Rashid Nurgaliyev said "the problem of illegal migration is that its channels may be used by extremists, terrorists and drug dealers."
By his data, in 2004, two metric tons of heroin was seized in Russia.
The board determined the main directions of the two countries' joint activity: the fight against the drug threat, terrorism and extremism, the search for missing citizens, the fight against illegal migration, and elimination of organized criminal groups.
The sixth joint board session of the Russian and Tajik Interior Ministries will be held in August 2005 in Moscow.
