DUSHANBE, December 12, 2012, Asia-Plus — Development partners have declared commitment to put the people of Tajikistan at the center of development priorities.
Press release issued by the Development Coordination Council (DCC) Secretariat notes that achieving tangible improvements in the living standards of the people of Tajikistan in the next three years is the main goal of members of the DCC. , announced today at the 2012 meeting of the National Development Council chaired by the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon.
The 2012 meting of the National Development Council that took place in Dushanbe on December 11 reportedly marked the end of implementation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) for 2010-2012 and opening of the proposed development strategy of the Government for 2013-2015, the Tajikistan Living Standards Improvement Strategy (LSIS).
Members of the DCC, consisting of 26 multilateral, bilateral, and UN based organizations, commended the Government for PRS achievements, such as faster than expected economic recovery due to Government’s anti-crisis strategy, reduction of the poverty level from 47 to 39 percent, decreased inflation resulting from Government efforts to maintain macro stability, and implementation of key reforms, including the recently adopted Land Code. In addition, the DCC congratulated Tajikistan on accession to the World Trade Organization. In the past three years, DCC members supported Tajikistan’s robust recovery and socio-economic development with $1.3 billion in financial assistance, $288 million of which were provided as budget support to maintain social expenditures.
Looking forward, the DCC members expressed their support of the priority areas outlined in the new strategy, while emphasizing opportunities to improve the living standards of the population by: i) improving quality and access to education, healthcare and safe drinking water; ii) planning and preparing for economic and climatic shocks, including by increased fiscal savings; iii) using scarce public resources wisely and increasing transparency of public financial management; and iv) enlarging the role of the private sector in the economy, so as to create jobs, increase incomes of vulnerable and middle class groups, and raise revenues for the budget.
To help meet these objectives, members of the DCC proposed to work on several Government-led priorities through initiatives that put higher accent on delivering tangible benefits for the population by 2015. These include initiatives on Public Administration and Governance, Private Sector Led Growth, Development of Human Potential, Energy and Food Security, as well as increasing communication links between Tajikistan and the region. Implementation of these initiatives will result in more effective development assistance through closer collaboration between international development partner organizations and Government in the coming three years.
The overall objective of the Development Coordination Council (DCC) is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its members’ development activities in Tajikistan—a goal that is anchored in the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness and the subsequent 2008 Accra Agenda and 2011 Busan Partnership. To this end, it facilitates the exchange of information and promotes cooperation between members and, in addition, undertakes dialogue with the government on the country’s development priorities.
