The Asian Development Bank is developing a support package for four countries of the Asian region: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, Mr. Eugene Zhukov, Director General of the Asian Development Bank (ABD) Central and West Asia Regional Department, said yesterday speaking at a virtual briefing.
According to him, the upcoming countercyclical support facility for these countries is aimed at providing social protection for poor and vulnerable groups, promoting food security and price stability and supporting employment and small and medium sized businesses
“We are awaiting approval of this facility by the ADB Board of Directors,” Mr. Zhukov added.
The Asian Development Bank has revised upwards its forecasts for economic growth in Tajikistan from 2.0% to 4.0% and forecasts for economic growth for 2023 from 3.0% to 5.0%.
Recall, Ms. Shanny Campbell, the ADB Country Director for Tajikistan, told reporters in Dushanbe on February 22 this year that the Asian Development Bank considers granting 193 million US dollars to Tajikistan in 2022.
According to her, the plan for this year includes projects to support further development of the urban infrastructure in Dushanbe, improve energy and financial sectors, build disaster resilience and improve road maintenance.
“However, the final amount of the ADB planned assistance will depend on various factors, including available resources and readiness of projects,” Ms. Campbell noted.
She further noted that the Bank considers granting 465 million U.S. dollars to Tajikistan in grants within the next three years (2022-2024).
Ms. Campbell recalled that a new five-year country partnership strategy for Tajikistan, 2021–2025 was approved in 2021.
ADB’s country partnership strategy for Tajikistan, 2021–2025 supports government efforts to increase productivity, mobilize private investments—and ultimately improve the quality of Tajikistan’s economic growth. ADB’s three strategic priorities in Tajikistan are to support structural reforms to enhance resource allocation and mobilization; improve labor productivity through human capital development; and foster better livelihoods through investments in a land-linked economy.
Since Tajikistan joined ADB in 1998, the bank has become Tajikistan’s largest multilateral development partner with more than $2.2 billion in assistance, including around $1.7 billion in grants. This has helped develop strategic road and energy infrastructure, promote food security, and strengthen social services.
The largest share of the portfolio is in transport sector (35 percent), followed by energy sector (26 percent), agriculture and natural resources (11 percent), and the rest accounts for public sector management, education, health, urban infrastructure and others.
