A new authority in the defense sector will be established in Tajikistan – the Defense Industry Committee under the Government of the country. The decree for its creation was signed by President Emomali Rahmon on May 2 of the current year.
The document states that the Committee may have 38 employees, including 8 military personnel. The new authority is also allowed to have two deputy chairpersons and a board of 7 people.
According to the document, the State Committee on Investments must provide a building for the new Committee, and the Ministry of Finance is tasked with allocating funds from the republican budget. The Committee will also be allocated 4 official vehicles.
Other details of the decree and its annexes are currently unavailable.
Until now, the defense industry sector was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of Tajikistan. Now the corresponding powers are removed from this department, and all points and formulations related to the defense industry will be excluded from the decree “On the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of the Republic of Tajikistan.”
It should be noted that a Defense Industry Committee was already created in Tajikistan in 1997, but it was abolished in 2002, and its responsibilities were transferred to the Ministry of Industry.
Currently, at least one defense industry enterprise is known in the country. In May 2023, the Sipar Group enterprise was put into operation in Tursunzoda, whose main activity is the assembly of special military and civilian equipment. It was reported that the assembly of 17 types of special vehicles would be established at the enterprise.
The State Committee on Investments reported that the enterprise was built through “attracting foreign investments” amounting to $15 million, and its annual production capacity is up to 120 special vehicles for the Armed Forces of the country.
“The equipment produced at this enterprise is intended to supply units and divisions of the Armed Forces of Tajikistan, and in the future, its export abroad is planned,” stated the State Committee on Investments at the time.
