DUSHANBE, November 8, Asia-Plus — European Commission will provide 9 million euros to Tajikistan to implement the food security program, Tajikistan’s Finance Minister, Safarali Najmuddinov, announced at a news conference in Dushanbe today following his talks with Adriaan van der Meer, the European Commission Head of Delegation to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
The Government of Tajikistan, represented by Safarali Najmuddinov and the European Commission, represented by Adriaan van der Meer, today signed a finance agreement. Under this agreement the European Commission allocates Euro 9 million to Tajikistan for implementing the food security program.
According to the minister, a total amount of the Food Security Program for 2006 is 9 million euros. Of this amount, 8.5 million euros are a budgetary support in a form of grant. “The program is aimed at providing a long-term food security through enhancement of activities of such key sectors as agrarian sector, land reforms and social security,” the minister said, noting that the program also pays attention to improvement of public management and management of finance in a broader context of activities on reduction of poverty in Tajikistan.
Najmuddinov noted that the Tajik government has worked on providing the country’s food security since 1995 and three projects, costing Euro 7 million each, had been implemented in Tajikistan over this period.
For his part, Adriaan van der Meer noted that the Food Security Program in Tajikistan is projected for the period up to 2010 and the European Commission will continue providing assistance to Tajikistan in implementation of this program. He added the European Commission is currently working out a strategy for Central Asia that provides for rendering assistance to the countries of the region in reducing poverty through implementation of the food security programs, expansion of regional cooperation in the fields of environmental protection, transportation and hydropower, strengthening of border protection and the fight against drug trafficking, as well as carrying out economic reforms. This strategy is expected to be adopted next summer, according to him.
“We want to see extending of economic and democratic reforms in the region,” van der Meer said.
