DUSHANBE, April 4, 2011, Asia-Plus — The Government of Tajikistan, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB) presented the findings of the 2010 Joint Country Portfolio Performance Review at a meeting on April 1, the ADB Tajikistan Resident Mission reported on April 4.
The meeting was co-chaired by Davlatali Saidov, Chairman of the State Committee on Investments and State-owned Property Management, Motoo Konishi, the WB’s Regional Director for Central Asia, and Joji Tokeshi, ADB”s Country Director for Tajikistan. Representatives from the government, line ministries, project implementation units and agencies, ADB, and WB also participated in the meeting.
The total joint ADB-WB assistance to Tajikistan stands at $1.25 billion with around 80% of all committed funds being concentrated in energy, agriculture, and transport. This includes $656.9 million from ADB (52.3%) and $598.7 million from WB (47.7%). The assistance comprises a total of 85 operations under various financing modalities, such as policy-based budget support and investment projects both on a lending and grant basis, excluding technical assistance projects. There are currently 35 ongoing projects and operations financed by both banks.
The review was completed in close cooperation with the Government of Tajikistan and assessed the performance of the joint project portfolio, its relevance and impact. The review also helped to identify generic issues affecting the performance of the portfolio and agreement was reached on the action necessary to address them.
Joint reviews have been held every year since 2004. Previous reviews have resulted in action plans addressing critical issues in portfolio management, including measures to improve project implementation, funds disbursement, fiduciary management, and taxation. Progress has been made in some areas, but other still require more attention.
The meeting highlighted the fact that the joint portfolio performance remains satisfactory. Both banks have shown flexibility in using different assistance instruments to assist the country in mitigating the effects of the crisis and supporting its development. The review has also shown that the government and the banks need to continue efforts to strengthen the institutional capacity of executing agencies and project implementation units; and address pending issues with procurement, disbursement and taxation.
Tajikistan became a member of WB in 1993 and ADB in 1998. As a low-income country, Tajikistan has received highly-concessional financing from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) and ADB’s Asian Development Fund (ADF) in the form of loans and grants. Starting from fiscal year 2008, Tajikistan receives only grants from IDA and ADF.
