Day: March 9, 2023

On March 7, World Bank (WB) Vice President for Europe and Central Asia, Ms. Anna Bjerde, visited several World Bank-financed projects in the Tajik southern Khatlon province, the press release issued by the World Bank Country Office in Tajikistan says. In Vose district, the World Bank delegation, together with the Minister of Finance of Tajikistan Faiziddin Qahhorzoda, reportedly launched a new water supply system, rehabilitated with support from the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project. The 'Javoni' water supply system has connected 10,000 residents from three villages to safely managed water services. The project, financed with a US$58 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA), is investing in improved water and sanitation services in districts of the southern Khatlon province which have the highest levels of poverty and inadequate access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions. With project support, around 400,000 people are expected to gain access to safe drinking water and around 100,000 people, mainly children, will benefit from investments in WASH facilities and hygiene training in schools. In Danghara, the delegation reportedly visited the Khatlon State Medical University, which is among 26 higher education institutions across Tajikistan to receive support from the World Bank-financed Higher Education Project. The University established and equipped four modern labs for medical students to practice their skills, review and update their academic programs, and created an online portal for lectures and other educational resources to be accessible to a wider audience. Students who used to only observe doctors carrying out surgeries in operating rooms can now try out techniques firsthand, building their confidence and better preparing them to care for the public. In total, HEP benefited around 28,000 students with nearly 40 percent of them being female students. 'These investments are just a few examples of how the World Bank is investing in the people of Tajikistan,' added Anna Bjerde. 'From supporting structural reforms under the newly approved budget support operation, to ensuring that rural communities have access to safe drinking water and schools have improved sanitation, we aim to support Tajikistan's efforts to build a strong and healthy human capital that is well-positioned to succeed in the future, be competitive, create jobs and contribute to the country's growth and prosperity.' Tajikistan joined the World Bank in 1993 and the International Development Association (IDA) in 1994. Currently, the World Bank is financing 25 projects in Tajikistan totaling US$1.59 billion. Since 1996, the World Bank has provided over US$2.72 billion in IDA grants, highly concessional credits, and trust funds for Tajikistan.

Source: Asia-Plus

Tajikistan's State Committee for National Security (SCNS) has detained a freelance journalist Khurshed Fozilov in his native city Panjakent in Sughd province on unspecified charges. His relatives told Asia-Plus on March 9 that there are three days already that they have not been able to find out what for Fozilov was detained. A 37-year-old Khurshed Fozilov, a freelance journalist, who has cooperated with several independent media outlets, including the independent website Akhbor, which is based abroad, was reportedly detained on March 6 at the Panjakent Directorate of Labor, Migration and Employment, where he worked on a contractual basis. 'The contract ended in January, and Khurshed came to the Directorate on March 6 to visit former colleagues. He was taken from the building by two unidentified men in civilian clothes. Four more men in civilian clothes came the next day and took away the computer on which he worked. We asked about the reason for the detention of Khurshed, but they didn't say anything,' one of employees of the Directorate told Asia-Plus on the basis of anonymity. Later it turned out that Fozilov was detained by security officers and he is currently being held in the SCNS's office in Panjakent. Security officers reportedly promised his relatives to release him after interrogation, but on the evening of March 8, security officers asked Khurshed's relatives to bring his mobile phone, notebook and personal belongings. 'They showed him to us and said that he confessed to everything. But they did not specifically say what he confessed to,' one of Fozilov's relatives told Asia-Plus Thursday (March 9) afternoon. Khurshed Fozilov's mother Aziza Numonova told RFE/RL on March 8 that her son had been detained two days earlier. Numonova added that she was allowed to see her son on March 7, but he could not tell her the exact charges he faces. Recall, Tajikistan authorities blocked access to the Prague-based news website Akhbr.com noting that it serves as a platform for terrorists and extremists. Tajikistan's Supreme Court ruled that Akhbor.com should be blocked on the grounds that it offers a platform to 'terrorist and extremist organizations.' According to the Supreme Court press center, the ruling to block access to the website is based on the request from the Prosecutor-General's Office issued on February 18, 2020 and it entered into force on March 19, 2020. It is to be noted that last year, seven Tajik journalists and bloggers Mamadsulton Mavlonazarov, Abdulloh Ghurbati, Daler Imomali, Zavqibek Saidamini, Khoushrouz Jumayev, Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoyeva and Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda were sentenced to prison terms of between seven and twenty-one years. They were charged with spreading false information, participation in extremism community and collaboration with banned organization. The journalists themselves and their relatives reject these charges as absolutely unfounded. International groups, including Human Rights Watch and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have called on the Tajik government to release the reporters and end its campaign against the free press. A report released by the CPJ on December 14 last year says arrest and conviction of independent journalists and bloggers makes Tajikistan the leading jailer in Central Asia. The report, in particular, notes that the prisoners were tried secretly behind closed doors in detention centers, not courts, and sentenced to lengthy prison terms amid allegations of torture. Tajikistan was ranked 152nd out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' 2022 World Press Freedom Index, and Not Free in Freedom House's 2022 Global Freedom Status, with a score of 8/100.

Source: Asia-Plus

Revenues of Tajikistan's budget for January were overfulfilled 230 million somonis (equivalent to US$22.3 million), according to the Ministry of Finance.

Source: Asia-Plus

Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) in Tajikistan has handed over inclusive equipment to the Emergencies Committee under the Government of Tajikistan this year in the framework of the project, Fostering and Enabling Environment and Opportunities for Youth and People with disabilities to Promote Equity, Access, and Inclusion, funded by the European Union (EU). According to the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) Resident Office in Tajikistan, the project aims to foster an enabling environment and bring opportunities for youth and people with disabilities to promote equity, access, and inclusion in three regions: Dushanbe, Rasht Valley, and Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). This means that youth can get a better quality of life by accessing facilities for average growth and overall development This activity reportedly aims to better serve people with disabilities, particularly in emergencies; it will eventually be necessary to expand capabilities of the Emergencies Committee and the Committee for Environmental Protection in terms of improved technical capability, expanded reach, improved skills and knowledge, and improved technical capability. The CEO of AKAH, Nawab Ali Khan, handed over inclusive equipment for disaster preparedness and response to local and cross-border emergencies to the Emergencies Committee chief Rustam Nazarzoda. The equipment consist of evacuation chair for PWD, portable fire extinguishers, rescue blankets, headlamps, diving lamps, fins, masks, paddles, safety vests, ropes, and block rollers. Rustam Nazarzoda thanked EU and AKAH for their support and stated, 'AKAH and EU have a long history of fruitful cooperation; we will continue to build on that.' In his turn, Nawab Ali Khan thanked the government of Tajikistan for the successful partnership and trust they put in AKAH, and the level of cooperation has value for AKAH; there is a big hope for future fruitful collaboration for the benefit of Tajik citizens, despite nationality, race, faith, and social status. Through cooperation with local donors, government, and NGOs, AKAH promotes various capacities of local institutions and ensures future sustainability. AKAH works to ensure that people live in safe, sustainable and resilient habitats with the opportunity to thrive, whether in a remote mountain village, a town, or a densely populated urban center. It works with communities to help them prepare for and respond to natural disasters and the effects of climate change. AKAH also works to expand access to services and opportunities for people to improve their lives. AKAH helps communities prepare for the worst, provides immediate relief after disaster strikes, and helps build back better - and greener - while planning for a better future. Established in 2015, AKAH combines several agencies and programs of the AKDN that have been working on housing, habitat, and disaster preparedness and relief since the 1990s in South and Central Asia. The Fostering an Enabling Environment and Opportunities for Youth and People with Disabilities to Promote Equity, Access, and Inclusion Project is funded by the European Commission (EC) and implemented by AKAH jointly with the Centers of Sign Language and Deaf Education (CSLDEs) in Khorog city, Rasht Valley and Dushanbe. The project aims to promote equity, access, and inclusion by fostering an enabling environment for youth and people with disabilities. The project's outcome provides youth and people with disabilities with equitable access to livelihood and humanitarian resources and encourages them to participate in sports and other social activities.

Source: Asia-Plus

The delegation of Tajikistan led by the Minister of Economic Development and Trade Zavki Zavkizoda took part in the Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC) entitled “From Potential to Prosperity,” reports the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

On the sidelines of the conference, Zavqizod had a short conversation with the Emir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

Along with this, the Tajik delegation held a number of meetings with the Chairman of the Investment Authority of Qatar Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al Mahmoud, the largest investor in Qatar — the founder of the International Islamic Bank Sheikh Ali Abdulla Thani Al Thani, the Chairman of the Qatari Businessmen Association and the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Faisal Holding Sheikh Faisal bin Kassim Al Thani.

The meetings focused on the issues of expanding mutually beneficial cooperation between entrepreneurs of Tajikistan and Qatar in the investment areas of priority state investment projects, including infrastructure projects in the industry, transport and the introduction of the untapped economic potential of both parties, which play an important role in the development of interregional and international trade.

The parties agreed to regularly monitor the development and implementation of these projects in order to expand mutually beneficial cooperation.

Additionally, Zavkizoda is expected to meet with the Minister of Commerce and Industry of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Qassim Al-Thani, the Minister of Finance of the State of Qatar Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari and the Director General of the Qatar Fund for Development Khalifa bin Jassem Al-Kuwari.

It should be noted that representatives of more than 46 countries and authoritative international organizations took part in the conference.

The event was dedicated to the topics of investing in human potential, eradicating poverty, using scientific potential, technology and innovation, supporting structural transformation as a factor in prosperity, developing international trade and regional integration, combating climate change, COVID-19 and building resilience to mobilize international partnerships for planned development.

Source: National information agency of Tajikistan

Global freedoms declined for a 17th consecutive year in 2022 as the struggle for democracy approaches a turning point amid a curtailment of freedom of expression in countries such as Russia and Iran.

Human rights watchdog Freedom House said in its annual report on freedoms around the world, released on March 9, that the number of countries to score zero for freedom of expression rose on the year to 33 from 14, with media freedom coming under pressure in at least 157 countries and territories during 2022.

The report showed the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway, and Finland were the most free in the world with scores of 100, while Tibet Syria, and South Sudan were the worst, scoring only 1 point. Turkmenistan placed next to last with a score of 2.

"The most serious setbacks for freedom and democracy were the result of war, coups, and attacks on democratic institutions by illiberal incumbents," it said.

The report singled out Russian President Vladimir Putin's "authoritarian regime" for launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 "in a bid to scuttle that country’s hard-won democratic progress."

"Whatever false justifications for this war of aggression have been promulgated by the Kremlin’s state-controlled media, its clear purpose is to remove the elected leadership in Kyiv and deprive Ukrainians of their fundamental right to free self-government," the report, which ranks Russia as "not free," said.

"In his desire to destroy democracy in Ukraine and deny Ukrainians their political rights and civil liberties, Putin has caused the deaths and injuries of thousands of Ukrainian civilians as well as soldiers on both sides, the destruction of crucial infrastructure, the displacement of millions of people from their homes, a proliferation of torture and sexual violence, and the intensification of already harsh repression within Russia," it added.

The decline in freedoms in Russia appeared to influence its neighbors as well, the report showed, noting that three decades after the fall of the Soviet Union, "authoritarianism dominates Eurasia."

The report showed that no formerly Soviet countries were designated as "free," aside from the three Baltic states -- Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, all of which are European Union and NATO members.

"This lack of democratic governance has destabilized the region, as strongman rulers use military force to lash out at their neighbors and smother domestic dissent," the report said.

In addition to Turkmenistan lingering at the bottom of the table, Tajikistan had a score of 7, followed by Belarus and Afghanistan (8) and Azerbaijan (9). Uzbekistan and Iran had scores of 12, while Russia scored 16 points.

"The limited space for free media in Eurasia has diminished further due to new criminal laws and legislative restrictions," the report said.

Still, it lauded the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia for "declining to recognize Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territory" and for complying with international sanctions imposed against Russian banks.

The same, however, could not be said for Belarus, Freedom House noted.

Belarus, which authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka has closely aligned with Russia during the war against Ukraine, was tied for eighth worst in terms of freedoms, sharing the spot with Afghanistan, which saw Taliban militants seize power in 2021 after international forces withdrew from the country.

On the other end of the report, Kosovo was praised for being one of the most improved countries in terms of freedom, being given the designation as "partly free."

Freedom House noted that while Iran, which has been roiled by unrest over a lack of freedoms and poor living conditions for almost a year, holds elections regularly, "they fall short of democratic standards" due in part to the influence of the hard-line Guardian Council, an unelected body that disqualifies all candidates "it deems insufficiently loyal to the clerical establishment."

"Ultimate power rests in the hands of the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the unelected institutions under his control. These institutions, including the security forces and the judiciary, play a major role in the suppression of dissent and other restrictions on civil liberties," it said.

Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

On March 7, the international exhibition ITB Berlin 2023 opened in Germany, which will last until March 9. A tourist corner of Tajikistan called “Tajikistan — a country of tourism” on an area of 20 square meters in the national and modern style is presented at this exhibition, the Committee for Tourism Development reports.

This year, more than 20 domestic travel agencies presented the competitiveness of Tajikistan in the field of ecological, health, sports and mountaineering tourism, hunting, the unique culture and ancient civilization of the Tajik nation as a national tourism product. Along with this, the International University of Tourism and Entrepreneurship of Tajikistan promotes the achievements of the university in the field of tourism.

ITB Berlin is a global trade fair that promotes tourism opportunities in every country.

This year’s exhibition is attended by representatives of almost 200 countries, more than 15,000 travel agencies, and over 800 journalists.

ITB Berlin is held annually under the coordination of the World Tourism Organization, the participation of representatives of Tajikistan in this event as a full member of the organization is considered very useful for promoting the country’s tourism resources.

Source: National information agency of Tajikistan