DUSHANBE, February 18, 2009, Asia-Plus — The World Bank and the Government of Tajikistan have reached an agreement on the provision by the World Bank of a grant of 20 million US dollars to the Republic of Tajikistan as direct support to the Tajikistan’s state budget, press release issued by the World Bank said.
The Third Programmatic Development Policy Grant (PDPG) supports a set of policy reforms in private sector development, public sector administration, and delivery of social services. Upon request of the Tajik authorities, the World Bank management endorsed the increase of the grant amount from initially planned USD 10 million to USD 20 million to tackle emerging challenges as a result of the global financial and economic crisis.
Specifically, the grant helps the authorities to maintain macroeconomic stability, improve investment climate through reform of licensing and inspections, increased transparency of the privatization process and promotion of market competition, reform regulatory frameworks in aviation, cotton and energy, reform the public sector management, and improve social service delivery in health and education.
The Government of Tajikistan has implemented a number of reforms in these key sectors before the agreement on the grant was reached between the World Bank and the Government.
It is the third operation that supports the government’s reform program outlined in Tajikistan’s first and second poverty reduction strategies. The two previous Programmatic Development Policy Grants of USD 10 million and USD 12 million were disbursed to Tajikistan in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
All three grants are closely aligned with investments and technical assistance programs of the World Bank and other development partners in related areas. The grants are provided by the World Bank Group’s International Development Association (IDA). The resources are critical to support Tajikistan’s efforts to promote growth, improve governance, and reduce poverty.
The reforms in health and education, agreed under the PDPG operations, are expected to promote improved access and quality of services to the poor. Reforms of public administration are aimed at clarifying the roles and responsibilities of government entities and at building capacity for improved service delivery. The PDPG operations are also intended to help accelerate export growth and diversification of the economy by stimulating investment, which is critical improve productivity and strengthen the competitiveness of Tajikistan’s industries.
