Tajik President Emomali Rahmon yesterday received Dr. Bandar Al Hajjar, the President of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), according to the Tajik president’s official website.
In the course of the talks, Rahmon and Al Hajjar discussed state and prospects of further expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and the Islamic Development Bank.
Tajik leader reportedly expressed satisfaction with the current level of cooperation between Tajikistan and Bank and its participation in projects aimed at enhancement of energy, transportation, health and agrarian sectors in Tajikistan.
To-date, the Bank has reportedly provided more than 335 million U.S. dollars for implementation of priority projects in Tajikistan. Currently, seven investment projects worth more than 174 million U.S. dollars are being implemented in the country.
This year, IsDB has supported two more projects in Tajikistan – construction of two sections of the Kulob-Qalai Khumb and improvement maternal and child health service.
During the meeting, the two sides also discussed issues related to implementation of the Tajikistan National Development Strategy for the period up to 2030 (NDS 2030).
It was noted that Tajikistan is ready to cooperate with IsDB in the frameworks of its Special Program for Central Asia (SPCA) and Lives and Livelihoods Fund.
Dr. Bandar Al Hajjar arrived in Dushanbe on September 12 on a three-day visit. While in Dushanbe, he is also scheduled to hold talks with senior representatives of Tajikistan’s economic bloc ministries.
The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) is a multilateral development financing institution located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1973 by the Finance Ministers at the first Organization of the Islamic Conference (now called the Organization of Islamic Cooperation) with the support of the king of Saudi Arabia at the time (Faisal), and began its activities on October 20, 1975. There are 56 shareholding member states.
The largest share of the active IsDB portfolio is energy, transportation and water supply development — some 60 percent.
Tajikistan joined the Islamic Development Bank in 1996. One of the largest of IsDB-supported projects in Tajikistan is construction of the roads Shohon-Zighar and Zighar-Yoged in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). Tajikistan now owes about 112 million U.S. dollars to the Islamic Development Bank.
