Uzbekistan asks Russia for amnesty for labor migrants

The authorities of Uzbekistan asked Russia for amnesty for their labor migrants, Kommersant.ru writes.

“Several hundred thousand citizens of Uzbekistan cannot enter Russia, because they had previously violated its migration laws. The same number of violators, who are still in Russia, are afraid to leave its territory, fearing that they will not be allowed back later,” the publication notes.

Moscow is interested in involving Tashkent in the integration processes it oversees in the post-Soviet space, primarily the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Tashkent has not yet fully decided on this issue and is now weighing all the pros and cons.

On the eve of the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, experts from the Center for Economic Research and Reforms under the Presidential Administration of Uzbekistan presented their first report assessing the advantages and risks of the country’s accession to the EAEU. According to the Center, from the point of view of economic feasibility, participation in the EAEU is beneficial for the economy of Uzbekistan. “In the event of joining the Union, domestic producers will have equal access to the market of several countries, conditions for migrant workers will improve, access to Russian investment resources and technologies will be gained,” experts say.

At the same time, Uzbekistan has already made it clear to potential future partners in the Union that it would like preferential transitional periods for a number of its industries (in some cases up to 10 years).