Month: September 2022

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Rahmon sacks director of the Export Development Agency

By government’s decree issued on September 29 Shavkat Bobozoda was relieved of his post of Director of the Export Development Agency.

 

Bobozoda had served as Director of the Export Development Agency under the Government of Tajikistan since 2019. Prior to this he had served as Minister of Industry since 2013.

 

The reasons for his dismissal are not stated in the decree.

 

Meanwhile, Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, known locally as Radio Ozodi, reported early this week that Shavkat Bobozoda has been arrested on suspicion of a large-scale fraud. According to Radio Ozodi, Bobozoda is currently held in the Interior Ministry-run investigatory isolation ward. Investigators of the Prosecutor-General’s Office are conducting an investigation into his case.

 

Some sources say that if Bobozoda is convicted, he could face a large fine or imprisonment for a term of 8 to 12 years.

 

It’s reported that Bobozoda was detained at the request of a foreign company, from which the official reportedly received US$300,000, but didn’t fulfill the terms of the contract, and embezzled the money. The name of the company is not disclosed.

 

There has been no official announcement of Bobozoda’s detention so far.

 

The Export Development Agency was established in September 2018 and it began its work 2019. The agency was established to enhance Tajikistan’s export potential. The agency, in particular, seeks partners and consumers for Tajik exports abroad.

 

In addition, the agency is dedicated to improve the skills of employees of exporting companies and develop proposals for improving legislation to step up exports.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

 

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The European Union opens a rehabilitation center for children with disabilities in Qubodiyon

A newly refurbished and equipped rehabilitation center was opened in Qubodiyon district of Khatlon province to provide services for children and persons with disabilities.

 

According to the European Union (EU) Delegation to Tajikistan, Mission East, in collaboration with two local implementing partners, Mehrgon and Ehyo va Dastgiri, and with funding from the European Union and CISU (Civil Society in Development), is implementing this project in six districts in Khatlon province.

 

The center will not only provide rehabilitation services for children with disabilities but will also train their families to continue the exercises at home with their children. Family members will additionally be provided with legal support and information on how to access educational services, free social packages/benefits, relevant health services by a lawyer based at the center. In future, the center will be linked with government agencies such as the State Agency of Social Protection and Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population of Tajikistan (MoHSPP).

 

This project reportedly forms part of the European Union’s wider efforts in Tajikistan to build local CSO and government capacity in the effective coordination, monitoring, and implementation of service delivery and to improve the fulfilment of rights of children and persons with disabilities and to raise awareness of disability rights. Mission East, as the lead agency in the project, has been providing support and capacity-building to its project partner, Mehrgon, a Tajik Civil Society Organization (CSO).

 

The project is providing both technical capacity building, and linking the CSO (Mehrgon), Parent Support Groups and Associations of Parents with each other, as well as with the regional Community Based Rehabilitation Network to increase their influence on regional and national level policymaking. This will enable the families of children and their representatives to hold duty-bearers accountable for the fulfilment of the rights of their children.

 

The rehabilitation center is well equipped with all necessary equipment and will offer social, health, pedagogical and psychological services to Children with Disabilities from Qubodiyon, Shahritous and Nosir-Khusrav districts. It has the capacity to provide services for up to 157 children with another 183 being reached through the rehabilitation services offered through its outreach teams.

 

The EU Delegation says Khatlon is one of the most underserved regions in the country where access to social services is severely lacking. Also, due to a low level of awareness of disability rights and prevailing socio-cultural taboos around disability, children with special needs reportedly do not receive relevant healthcare, therapy or rehabilitation, and households suffer additional hardship, in addition to the burden of care, from lost social and economic opportunities. In many cases, children with disabilities and their families are not even registered to access the services they are entitled to or are not aware of existing services.

 

The inauguration ceremony was organized by Mission East in Tajikistan and its partner, Mehrgon and was attended by the representatives of the donor, the EU Delegation in Tajikistan, by the officials of a MoHSPP, district authorities, and local communities and other stakeholders.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

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Putin accuses West of attempting to provoke conflicts within CIS area

Russian media reports say Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday held a meeting with the chiefs of the security and special services of the CIS member nations via video conference.

 

Participants of this 18th meeting of the heads of security agencies and intelligence services of the CIS countries reportedly included delegations of Armenia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

 

According to the Kremlin’s official website, Putin stated that West is attempting to provoke conflicts within the CIS area. He was cited as saying that “Western countries are ready to expose anyone, anyone, any country, spark a color revolution and unleash a carnage.”

 

TASS says Putin called on the special services of CIS countries to fiercely counter any attempted cyberattacks on the critical infrastructure of CIS member states. The Russian president said it’s necessary not only to exchange information between special services, but also to conduct joint operations. Putin reportedly highlighted the need to promote cooperation among the CIS states.

 

“Of course, it’s necessary to encourage the development of integrated relations within the CIS,” he said.

 

According to the Russian leader, “despite the pressure, blackmail and illegal sanctions by the US and its satellites, the level of trade, production and investment cooperation between Russia and CIS countries is increasing.”

 

The Russian president expressed hope that the results of the meeting “will promote a more productive effort by the special services of the CIS countries, and open up new prospects for multifaceted cooperation.”

 

Turkiye’s Anadolu Agency (AA) reports that Putin said the West is nurturing scenarios of fueling conflicts in the CIS, where there are enough of them that emerged as a result of the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

 

“It is enough to look at what is happening now between Russia and Ukraine, occurs on the borders of some other CIS countries.

 

“But the risks of destabilization are still growing, including the risks of destabilization of the entire Asia-Pacific region,” he said.

 

According to Putin, the situation on the CIS borders needs acute attention as common threats are being formed there.

 

He said Afghanistan remains unstable, highly exposed to terror attacks and extremists may infiltrate CIS countries from Afghanistan.

 

“It is necessary to promote the development of integration ties within the CIS. Despite pressure, blackmail and illegal sanctions from the United States and its satellites, the indicators of trade turnover, industrial and investment cooperation between Russia and the CIS countries are increasing.

 

“And it is obvious that our cooperation is a serious resource for the growth of national economies, strengthening their competitiveness and positions in world markets,” he said.

 

Putin urged combined efforts to expand capabilities, allowing better results and use of resources more efficiently to actively develop cooperation in the future — from information exchange to joint special operations and personnel training.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

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Putin meets with permanent members of Russia’s Security Council

The Kremlin’s official website says Vladimir Putin yesterday held a briefing session with the permanent members of the Security Council via videoconference.

 

The meeting was reportedly attended by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Secretary of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, Minister of the Interior Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin, Special Presidential Representative for Environmental Protection, Ecology and Transport Sergei Ivanov and Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov.

 

Speaking at the meeting, Putin said, “We have several issues to discuss with you today regarding cooperation with the CIS countries. I met with the heads of the secret services from the CIS countries this afternoon, and they raised a number of issues that are certainly of interest to Russia.

 

“But first of all, I would like to discuss a very important, vitally important issue for us, I mean the management of activities on partial mobilization.

 

“You know that, at the suggestion of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, a partial mobilization has been underway in Russia since September 21.”

 

According to him, all the instructions to the Government, the Defense Ministry, the General Staff and the heads of the regions have been issued. The criteria for partial mobilization have reportedly also been formulated.

 

The Russian leader noted once more that citizens in the reserve, above all, those who have served in the Armed Forces, have needed military specialties and the relevant experience, are subject to conscription.

 

“At the same time, those called up for military service must undergo additional military training before being sent to their units. I would like to emphasize that this coordination and personnel training is a requirement that must be strictly observed,” Putin added.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

 

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Rahmon criticizes the pace of socioeconomic development of Shahritous district in Khatlon

President Emomali Rahmon has criticized the pace of socioeconomic development of Shahritous district in Khatlon province.

 

According to the Tajik president’s official website, his criticism, directed at local officials in the district, came during a government session held by Emomali Rahmon yesterday.

 

Issues related to development of the country and preparations for winter were reportedly discussed at the meeting.

 

Shahritous Chairperson Ghaffor Jabbori reported on the implementation of the Constitutional Law on “On the Local Government Bodies” and the RT Law “On the Self-Government Bodies of Settlements and Villages”

 

Speaking at the meeting, Rahmon reportedly criticized administrators of the Shahritous district for poor performance.

 

The Tajik president’s official website notes that Shahritous is a subsidized district. More than 20 million somonis annually comes from the republican budget to the district’s local budget. Seven investment projects totaling worth 2.3 million U.S. dollars are reportedly being implemented in Shahritous.

 

Speaking at the meeting, the president, in particular, instructed the Ministry of Economic Development and Tarde jointly with other relevant ministries and agencies to develop draft forecast of the country’s macroeconomic indicators for 2024 and its main parameters for 2025-2026 and submit them for consideration of the government until June 1, 2023.

 

The strategy of development of “green” economy in Tajikistan designed for 2023-2037 and the strategy of development the artificial intelligence in Tajikistan for the period up to 2040 were also discussed at the meeting.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

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ADB develops a support package for Tajikistan

The Asian Development Bank is developing a support package for four countries of the Asian region: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, Mr. Eugene Zhukov, Director General of the Asian Development Bank (ABD) Central and West Asia Regional Department, said yesterday speaking at a virtual briefing.

 

According to him, the upcoming countercyclical support facility for these countries is aimed at providing social protection for poor and vulnerable groups, promoting food security and price stability and supporting employment and small and medium sized businesses

 

“We are awaiting approval of this facility by the ADB Board of Directors,” Mr. Zhukov added.

 

The Asian Development Bank has revised upwards its forecasts for economic growth in Tajikistan from 2.0% to 4.0% and forecasts for economic growth for 2023 from 3.0% to 5.0%.

 

Recall, Ms. Shanny Campbell, the ADB Country Director for Tajikistan, told reporters in Dushanbe on February 22 this year that the Asian Development Bank considers granting 193 million US dollars to Tajikistan in 2022.

 

According to her, the plan for this year includes projects to support further development of the urban infrastructure in Dushanbe, improve energy and financial sectors, build disaster resilience and improve road maintenance.

 

“However, the final amount of the ADB planned assistance will depend on various factors, including available resources and readiness of projects,” Ms. Campbell noted.

 

She further noted that the Bank considers granting 465 million U.S. dollars to Tajikistan in grants within the next three years (2022-2024).

 

Ms. Campbell recalled that a new five-year country partnership strategy for Tajikistan, 2021–2025 was approved in 2021.

 

ADB’s country partnership strategy for Tajikistan, 2021–2025 supports government efforts to increase productivity, mobilize private investments—and ultimately improve the quality of Tajikistan’s economic growth. ADB’s three strategic priorities in Tajikistan are to support structural reforms to enhance resource allocation and mobilization; improve labor productivity through human capital development; and foster better livelihoods through investments in a land-linked economy.

 

Since Tajikistan joined ADB in 1998, the bank has become Tajikistan’s largest multilateral development partner with more than $2.2 billion in assistance, including around $1.7 billion in grants. This has helped develop strategic road and energy infrastructure, promote food security, and strengthen social services.

 

The largest share of the portfolio is in transport sector (35 percent), followed by energy sector (26 percent), agriculture and natural resources (11 percent), and the rest accounts for public sector management, education, health, urban infrastructure and others.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

 

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Electricity being turned off in rural localities: power rationing or power transmission lines repair?

Thus a resident of Tojikobod district, Jonibek, wrote on social networks that in Tojikobod, electricity has been cut off from *:00 am to 5:00 pm and from 10:00 pm to 3:00 am.

 

A resident of Roudaki district, Dodarbek, wrote on social networks that residents of some villages of the district have not had electricity from 8:20 am to 6:30 pm.

 

One of the social media users writes that when he asked employees of the local power grid about the reason for the blackout, they said, “We don’t know anything about the reason for the blackout. We cut off electricity on the orders of the leadership.”

 

Meanwhile, Nozirjon Yodgori, a spokesman for Barqi Tojik (Tajikistan’s state-owned electricity utility company) told Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service, locally known as Radio Ozodi, that there are no restrictions on electricity consumption in the country.

 

He claimed that power interruptions were linked only to work on overhauling production and transmission infrastructure.

 

Measures rationing electricity supplies are usually introduced in all regions except Dushanbe and regional administrative centers and they seek to curb the country’s rising electricity consumption. The rationing results in the supply of daily electrical power being reduced to 12 or 10 hours. In addition to curbing rising consumption, the move also stems from a decline in the water level in the country’s reservoirs powering the main hydroelectric power plants.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

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Kazakhstan capital to host Central Asia – Russia summit next month

Media reports say a Central Asia-Russia meeting at the highest level will take place in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on October 14.

 

TASS says the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan informs about the opening of accreditation of foreign journalists to cover the following events: October 13, 2022 – VI Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA); October 14, 2022 – Meeting of the Council of Heads of States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS); October 14, 2022 – The Central Asia – Russia Summit.”.

 

It is to be noted that this year, Kazakhstan is chairing the CIS. The CICA is a transnational forum headquartered in Astana created at Kazakhstan’s initiative in 1992.

 

Source: Asia-Plus

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Suicide attacker kills at least 19 killed and wounds dozens at Kabul education center

According to The Guardian, Khalid Zadran, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Kabul police chief, said the explosion happened inside the center in the Dashti Barchi neighborhood of Kabul.

 

Many of those living in the western area of the city where the blast occurred are Hazara, an ethnic minority targeted in past attacks launched by militants of the Islamic State (IS) terror group, among others.

 

Afghanistan International says the victims of the explosion are from the ethnic Hazara community of Afghanistan who are predominantly Shia and have been the victims of such attacks in the past years as well.

 

Police say no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in which suicide bomber detonated explosives.

 

TOLOnews says the blast has faced widespread condemnations.

 

The blast was reportedly condemned by the Islamic Emirate, the United States, Norway, Iran, Afghan political leaders and foreign diplomatic missions.

 

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid in a tweet condemned the attack and called it “great horror.”

 

Former chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), Abdullah Abdullah, condemned the attack, saying those responsible for the blast are the enemies of peace and development in the country.

 

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) tweeted it “condemns the outrage, extending its deep condolences to all those in mourning.”

 

The U.S. Charge d’Affaires Karen Decker said on Twitter: “The U.S. strongly condemns today’s attack on the Kaaj Higher Educational Center. Targeting a room full of students taking exams is shameful; all students should be able to pursue an education in peace and without fear.”

 

Source: Asia-Plus