DUSHANBE, March 28, 2009, Asia-Plus — Russia has implemented and is continuing to implement economic projects in Tajikistan despite the ongoing financial crisis, Vyacheslav Svetlichny, Chargé D’Affaires of the Russian Embassy in Dushanbe, remarked at an international conference formally titled “Problems of Security of States in the Middle East under Conditions of the Global Financial Crisis” that was held at Russia-Tajik Slavic University (RTSU) in Dushanbe on March 27, according to the Russian Embassy in Dushanbe.
The largest of them are construction of the Sangtuda-1 hydroelectric power plant (HPP), construction of the Hyatt Regency Dushanbe Hotel, exploration and development of a number of gas fields in Tajikistan, and construction of the business center in Dushanbe, Svetlichny said.
Besides, Russia intends to construct three medium sized power plants in the country. Russian diplomat noted that Russian-Tajik cooperation in the energy sector was expanding.
“We are ready for close cooperation in the energy sector,” Svetlichny said. He pointed out an active role of Tajikistan’s leadership that is, according to him, interested in implementation of joint projects both in the energy and other sectors. “Our joint economic activities have resulted in increase of a two-way trade between Russia and Tajikistan,” Russian diplomat said, noting that trade between the Russian Federation and Tajikistan in 2008 exceeded 1 billion US dollars.
“According to figures of Tajikistan’s State Committee for Statistics, direct foreign investments (DFI) in Tajikistan’s economy amounted to more than 1.4 billion US dollars in 2008, and Russia’s share that accounted for more than 50 percent of last year’s DFIs exceeded 714 million US dollars.”
The conference, sponsored by the Russian Embassy in Dushanbe, brought together political scientists, researchers and lecturers from universities as well as government officials and senior representatives from a number of diplomatic missions accredited in Tajikistan. Iranian Ambassador to Tajikistan Ali Asghar-Sherdoust, Deputy Director of the Tajik Center for Strategic Studies Sayfullo Safarov, Deputy Defense Minister Ramil Nadyrov, as well as senior representatives from President’s Executive Office, MFA, and Academy of Sciences also read papers at the conference.
