DUSHANBE, August 15, 2008, Asia-Plus — State and prospects of further expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and International Finance Corporation (IFC) were the focus of a meeting of President Emomali Rahmon with Mr. Lars Thunell, Executive Vice President and CEO of International Finance Corporation, in Dushanbe on August 14.
Speaking to reporters following his meeting with President Rahmon, Mr. Thunell noted that IFC intends to expand its cooperation with Tajikistan in the future as well.
According to him, they discussed issues related to investing in development of private sector, agrarian sector and financial market in Tajikistan.
He noted that three sectors had been identified as priority areas and IFC would like participate in them and provide support for development of them. “The most important issue is investment in private sector for development of hydropower potential of Tajikistan because energy crisis that hit the country in the past winter uncovered the problem in this sphere,” IFC executive vice-president and CEO said, noting that at present they are working on developing the regional structure in Central and South Asia in order to organize production and exchange of electricity between the countries of those regions.
Asked about creation of an international consortium for completing construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power station (HPS) in Tajikistan, Mr. Thunell said that that issue is still being discussed. According to him, a delegation of the World Bank will arrive in Tajikistan in the near future to discuss that issue more specifically.
Mr. Thunell arrived in Tajikistan on August 14 for the first official visit. Yesterday, Thunell also met with top managers of The First MicroFinanceBank of Tajikistan and Tojiksodirotbonk (TSB). Today, he left for Khorog to visit the Pamir Energy Company (PEC) in Khorog, Gorno Badakhshan and tomorrow, he will visit Khujand, Sughd province to hold talks with top managers of Eskhata Bank.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC’s vision is that people should have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed $8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through syndications and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries. IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries.
