DUSHANBE, December 5, 2011, Asia-Plus — On Monday December 5, President Emomali Rahmon received visiting World Bank Regional Strategy and Operations Director for Europe and Central Asia Theodore Ahlers.
According to the presidential press service, financial and technical support for socioeconomic development of Tajikistan as well as the process of conducting techno-economic, social, and environmental assessments for the Roghun hydropower project were a major topic of the meeting.
President Rahmon appreciated World Bank’s support for development of Tajikistan’s economy and noted that over the past fifteen years of cooperation, the World bank has provided US$640 million assistance to the country.
Mr. Ahlers, for his part, noted that the World Bank would provide 60 million U.S. dollars in 2012 to support Tajikistan’s development, which is 22 million U.S. dollars more than this year, the source noted.
On the issues related to conducting assessments for the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP), the World Bank representative reportedly assured the Tajik head of state that the assessment would be conducted in accordance with international standards and they would be completed by the middle of the next year.
Tajikistan became a member of the World Bank and the International Development Association in 1993. Since then, 36 projects totaling US$ 505 million have been supported.
Tajikistan’s active portfolio of the World Bank consists of 18 projects with net commitments of 228 million U.S. dollars. The largest share of portfolio is in agriculture and rural development (34%), followed by energy and water (29%), education (16%), economic policy and public sector (14% incl. budget support), and health (8%).
