DUSHANBE, March 26, 2010, Asia-Plus — A loan agreement for 17 million U.S. dollars was singed between the Government of Tajikistan, represented by Minister of Finance Safarali Najmiddinov, and the Government of Kuwait, represented by the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) Deputy Director General Hamad Suleiman Al-Derbas, in Dushanbe on March 26.
The loan carrying an annual interest rate of 2 percent is repayable in 24 years with a four-year grace period.
The amount of this soft term loan is allocated for co-financing the project, Construction of the Kulob-Qalai Khumb Road: Shuroobod-Shagon Section.
The Tajik minister of finance noted that that 40-kilometer transport corridor connecting the central and southern parts of the country with the east of the country would support social and economic development of southeastern Tajikistan and break the isolation of the country by connecting it to the world through construction of a paved road to China. The project will promote passenger and cargo traffics between Tajikistan and neighboring countries, the minister said.
The Kulob-Qalai Khumb road construction project is being implemented with financial support from the Saudi Fund for Development, the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), Abu Dhabi Fund for Development Fund and KFAED that have provided a total of 85 million U.S. dollars. Tajik government’s contribution to the project is 7.9 million U.S. dollars.
The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), commonly known as the Kuwait Fund, is the State of Kuwait’s agency for the provision and administration of financial and technical assistance to developing countries. Founded in December 1961 by then Minister of Finance Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Kuwait Fund was operational shortly after the country’s independence, ensuring that Kuwait’s newly discovered oil wealth was put to benefit neighbors and friends alike. The Fund was created as a message from the Kuwaiti people, ensuring that “Here we are embarking on the tides of change but we will not forget our friends in need”.
The Kuwait Fund is the first aid agency in the world to be established by a developing country. KFAED was originally established with a capital of KWD 50 million, increased to KWD 200 million in 1966.
