Despite a considerable amount of debts accumulated, the Tajik government is not going to discontinue the practice of foreign borrowing, and is planning to borrow 1.4 billion U.S. dollars (USD) within the next three years.
Sadoi Mardum, a mouthpiece of Tajikistan’s parliament, reports that presenting the draft national program for foreign borrowing for 2024 and forecast indicators for 2025-2026 to lawmakers, the Minister of Finance Faiziddin Qahhorzoda said on November 15 that the country plans borrow 1.4 billion USD in forms of grants and loans within the next three years.
According to him, these funds will be used to implement twelve intergovernmental agreements.
The minister noted that the national program for foreign borrowing is based on the provisions of the country’s law on the public debt and government-guaranteed debt and complies with the standards provided for by the public debt management strategy for 2021-2023.
According to information received, the country’s borrowing program for the next three years provides for implementing 48 loan agreements; 36 of them in a total amount of 1.4 billion USD are already in the process of implementation (the same amount as planned will be raised additionally).
Under this program, Tajikistan intends to borrow in total 1.1506 billion USD within the next three years, including 381.5 million USD being borrowed in 2024, 377.4 million USD being borrowed in 2025 and 391.7 million USD being borrowed in 2026, he minister was quoted as saying.
The minister reportedly also noted that two loan agreements in a total amount of 19.5 million USD have been signed over the first ten months of this year: a US$10 million loan agreement was concluded with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for implementation of the Qairoqqum National Park Renovation Project and a US$9.5 million loan agreement was signed with the Islamic Bank of Development (IsDB) for implementation of the National Education Development Strategy Support project.
As of October 1, 2023, Tajikistan’s public debt has amounted to 3.6 billion USD, which is equal to 30.8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), including external borrowings amounting to 3.2 billion USD, which is 89 percent of the public debt, and internal debt amounting to 400 million USD (11 percent).
The Ministry of Finance says that over the first ten months of this year, 212.2 million USD has been earmarked for servicing the external debt. Of that total, 139 million USD has reportedly been reserved for repayment of the principal, with the rest going toward covering interest.
