DUSHANBE, November 22, Asia-Plus — Ambassador Joerg Alois Reding, Head of the Economic Development and Cooperation Division of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has arrived in Tajikistan for a five-day visit.
According to SDC (Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation) Dushanbe Office, the aim of the visit is for Ambassador Reding to get acquainted with Swiss funded projects in this country, meet partners and discuss issues of economic development of Tajikistan.
During his five-day visit he will meet the Minister of economic development and trade, Minister of finance, Chair of the Tajik National Bank, the State Advisor on economic issues, the Chair of the Joint Stock Company “Barqi Tojik” and other partners.
The program of the Ambassador also includes visits to different projects funded by Switzerland in Tajikistan.
The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) supports projects in the sphere of macro-economic development, water and energy infrastructure, and promotion of private sector in Tajikistan. For the last decade, SECO has invested more than USD 50 million to development projects in Tajikistan. Additionally, based on the new Cooperation Strategy 2007-2011, SECO has committed itself to grant another USD 30 million during next five years.
Switzerland has started its cooperation with Tajikistan in 1993 with humanitarian aid, which in 1998 has been replaced by financial and technical assistance. Since then Switzerland has contributed more than USD 120 million to different development projects, half of which has been funded by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO
Ambassador Joerg Alois Reding
(1951), MA in economics, dele-gate of the Federal Council for Trade Agreements, since 1 August 2006 Head of the Economic Development Cooperation Division in the Foreign Economic Affairs Directorate. From July 1999 he headed the Bilateral Economic Relations Division. In 1996-1999 he was Vice-Director of the Swiss Federal Office for Foreign Affairs and, with the title of minister, head of the Division for Economic Measures for Eastern Europe and the CIS States. He was executive director at the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Ivory Coast from 1992 to 1995
