DUSHANBE, September 13, Asia-Plus — Relations between citizens and businesspeople are fundamental principles of interstate cooperation, President Emomali Rahmon remarked at a Tajik-Kazakh business forum in Dushanbe on September 13. .
According to him, Tajikistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) has risen 40 percent over the past five years. Inflation for 2001-2006 stood on average at 7 percent, while the country’s foreign debts reduced from 108 % to 31 percent of GDP.
Our main task is to provide energy independence and food safety, as well as reduce Tajikistan’s isolation from neighboring markets, the president said. Attraction of investments and technological breakthrough are determining factors to reach these goals, according to him.
“Tajikistan attaches significance to expansion of its cooperation with Kazakhstan,” said Rahmon, “Although a two-way trade between Tajikistan and Kazakhstan has increased by 55 percent over the first half-year of 2007, we cannot be satisfied with these indices.”
He outlined hydropower, mining, and processing of cotton as priorities and main directions of development of Tajikistan’s economy. He noted that at present Tajikistan is using only 6 percent of its reserves of water and power resources. “We plan to increase annually generation of electrical power up to 80 billion kWh by 2025,” President Rahmon said, noting that Tajikistan connects development of hydropower with rational use of water resources. “Our hydroelectric power stations, power grids, bridges and highways are not only of republican but also of regional importance.”
Rahmon also noted that the next conference of the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) will be held in Dushanbe in November this year.
According to the Tajik head of state, business forums promote establishment of close cooperation between businesspeople.
Telling the forum, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev also pointed to the necessity of expanding economic cooperation between the two countries. He noted that some 80 percent of foreign investments intended for Central Asia come to Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan now also actively invests in other countries. “We are investing some $26 billion in Russia, Turkey, China, Trans-Caucasian states and some European countries, while in Tajikistan, we investing only $18 million, which is not enough,” the Kazakh leader said.
According t him, Tajikistan is one of reliable partners of Kazakhstan. “Some Kazakh banks have opened their representative offices in Tajikistan and 74 enterprises with participation of Tajik capital now operate in Kazakhstan,” Nazarbayev said.
Kazakh president stressed that state is not good manager, and therefore, “economy should be handed over to private entrepreneurs and state should create conditions for them.” “Thus private enterprises account for 85 percent of goods produced in Kazakhstan.”
