Day: April 10, 2023

An international motor rally through the territories of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Armenia, dubbed Caravan of Friendship, is expected to begin in Dushanbe on April 24 and to end Armenia's capital, Yerevan, on May 10, according to the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan (MoT).

Source: Asia-Plus

Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin will head the Tajik delegation at the fourth foreign ministers' meeting of the neighboring countries of Afghanistan that will take place in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on April 13, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan (MFA). An official source within the MFA says the fourth ministerial meeting of Afghanistan's neighboring countries will bring together delegations from Tajikistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Russia's state-run news agency TASS, citing Russian Foreign Ministry, says the meeting will discuss further steps of regional partners to facilitate an Afghan political settlement and stabilize humanitarian and socio-economic situations in the country. Given the complicated security situation and growing terrorist activity and drug production in Afghanistan, the coordination of counterterrorist and anti-drug efforts of the region's countries is especially important, Russian Foreign Ministry was cited as saying. Special attention will be paid to regional economic integration and implementation of energy and transport projects with the participation of Kabul in accordance with the previously reached agreements, the Russian Foreign Ministry summed up. Meanwhile Afghanistan's news agency TOLOnews reports that the participants of the meeting will discuss the fight against narcotics production and activities of terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

Source: Asia-Plus

Tajikistan's economic growth is expected to decelerate to 5.0 percent this year as the 2022 positive shock subsides and remittance inflows diminish, which is expected to result in a contraction in private consumption, says a report released by the World Bank (WB). 'Weak Growth, High Inflation, and Cost-of-Living Crisis: Europe and Central Asia Economic Update', in particular, notes that inflation is expected to decrease gradually and remain within the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT)'s 4.0-8.0 percent target range, supported by tight monetary policy. Reduced global demand is reportedly expected to weaken Tajikistan's export of precious metals and minerals. Over the medium term, the fiscal deficit is expected to remain in line with the Government's target of 2.5 percent of GDP. Tajikistan's outlook reportedly faces substantial downside risks. Holders of dual Tajik and Russian citizenship remain at elevated risk of military mobilization in Russia, which could trigger a return of migrants and a greater need for social assistance. The report notes that the growth model is based on natural resources extraction and exports, and substantial remittances from migrants working mainly in Russia. This model presents inherent vulnerabilities associated with the high dependency on income from labor migrants from one country, the limited domestic production base, and the undiversified export basket. The private sector has reportedly not been able to invest and grow in an environment with significant barriers to competition, obstacles to business operations, unpredictable tax regimes, and shallow financial markets. Moreover, underinvestment in human capital (in favor of physical infrastructure, mainly for large hydroelectric plants), high trade and connectivity costs, and predominance of inefficient loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs), undermine the economy's competitiveness. The report says the Tajik economy expanded by 8.0 percent in 2022, driven by Russia's strong labor demand, which combined with the appreciation of the Russian ruble resulted in substantial remittance inflows. This positive shock fueled household consumption. Private investment was buoyant, led by the mining industry. The trade deficit reportedly widened due to lower exports of precious metals and buoyant imports. However, the substantial remittances offset this and led to a current account surplus of 6.1 percent of GDP. Combined with net FDI inflows of 4.1 percent of GDP to the mining sector, international reserves rose to USD 3.8 billion, providing around 7.5 months of import cover. Migration reportedly increased significantly in 2022 before reversing after Russia announced mobilization in September. The share of households with a migrant increased from 42 percent to 50 percent during the first half 2022 but steadily declined afterward. The report says Tajikistan needs to accelerate structural reforms, primarily by strengthening the independence of the judicial system; opening up key sectors to competition and leveling the playing field for businesses, notably in backbone sectors such as telecommunications and aviation; refocusing public resources on human capital development; and enhancing management of public finance and the governance of public enterprises.

Source: Asia-Plus

On Friday, April 14, Tajik Foreign minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin will take part in the sixth Russia-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting that will take place in the Uzbek city of Samarkand. News Central Asia (nCa) says the meeting that will bring together foreign ministers of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan will discuss promising areas of six-party cooperation in the political, economic cultural and humanitarian spheres. They will also compare positions on topical issues of the regional and international agendas.

Source: Asia-Plus

The foreign ministers of the CIS member nations will meet in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on April 14. An official source within Tajik Foreign Ministry says Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Muhriddin will head the Tajik delegation at a meeting of the CIS Council of Foreign Ministers. The delegation from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well as representatives of the CIS Executive Committee will also participate in the meeting. Citing Russian Foreign Minister spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, BelTA says the foreign ministers will exchange views on topical issues of the international and regional agenda, discuss prospects for multifaceted cooperation in the CIS format and 'take stock of the results of inter-ministerial cooperation in the past year.' 'Special attention will be paid to international security, as well as contacts with law enforcement, cultural, humanitarian and educational spheres,' the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was cited as saying. The Council of Foreign Minister of the CIS Member Nations is the main executive body ensuring cooperation in the field of foreign policy activities of the CIS member states on the matters of mutual interest, adopting decisions during the period between the meetings of the Council of the CIS Heads of State, the Council of the CIS Heads of Government and by their orders. The first session of the Council took place in August 1993.

Source: Asia-Plus

On April 7, the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture met in Dushanbe with the World Bank representative.

The meeting focused on the implementation of the project «Improving the sustainability of agriculture in Tajikistan.»

The implementation of the project will make a significant contribution to the implementation of the goals of the government of of Tajikistan, including the program for reforming the agricultural sector, the concept of organizing and developing agro-industrial clusters, ensuring the country’s food security and implementing other sectoral programs.

The main goal of the project is to strengthen the foundation of the country’s sustainable agricultural sector by increasing the availability of quality seeds, climate-resistant seedlings, improving access to agro-logistic services for farmers and agricultural enterprises, and improving the management of state institutions.

Source: National information agency of Tajikistan