Tajikistan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) intend to work out a new cooperation program that will cover all investment projects aiming at supporting enhancement of Tajikistan’s energy, transportation and agrarian sector.
This issue was reportedly discussed at a meeting of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon with Mr. Shinichi Kitaoka, President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency that took place in the Tajik northern city of Istaravshan yesterday.
The Tajik president’s official website says Tajik leader expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation between Tajikistan and JICA in the fields of raising qualification of Tajik public servants, improving Tajikistan population’s access to safe drinking water, protecting mother and child health in Tajikistan, improving border control, etc.
The two sides reportedly also discussed prospects of further expansion of bilateral cooperation in improving business climate in Tajikistan, improving competitive power of Tajikistan’s industry, creating new jobs in Tajikistan and attracting grants from Japan for improvement of Tajikistan’s disaster response capacities.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency is a governmental agency that coordinates official development assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international cooperation.
JICA began its technical cooperation with Tajikistan in 1993 by inviting Tajik officials to gain knowledge and experience on governance and macroeconomics development. As of January 2018, a total number of participants to JICA’s Knowledge Co-Creation Programs, formerly called the Training Programs, has exceeded 2100 people.
JICA Office was established in Tajikistan in 2006, and since then, various Grant Financial Assistance and Technical Cooperation projects have been implemented more dynamically, aiming at improving living standard of Tajik people for the sectors such as agriculture and rural development, water supply, health, transport, energy, capacity building etc. JICA’s cumulative investment portfolio in Tajikistan in all sectors comprises 33 projects amounting to more than 341 million USD (82 million USD for Technical Cooperation and 259 million USD for Grant Assistance), including 12 on-going projects.
