DUSHANBE, February 2, 2012, Asia-Plus — A Record of Discussions for commencement of implementation of the “Project on Rural Development in Tajik-Afghan Border Area of Badakhshan” was signed in Dushanbe yesterday between the Governor of Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) Mr. Qosim Qodirov and Resident Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Mr. Iida Jiro, the JICA Country Office in Tajikistan said.
The “Project on Rural Development in Tajik-Afghan Border Area of Badakhshan” is planned to get started in February 2012 with the implementation period of three (3) years. The project will be implemented in the Badakhshan area bordering with Afghanistan, with target districts of Vanj, Darvaz, Rushan, Ishkashim and Shugnan. The project will be implemented by Aga Khan Foundation in Tajikistan (AKF) and an approximate budget of 2.8 million U.S. dollars will be contributed by JICA for the project.
The main goal of the given project is to enhance the access of the population to services and livelihood opportunities by building community-prioritized infrastructure, strengthening the local government institutions and consolidating collaboration between Tajik and Afghan government institutions. The similar project is currently being implemented in Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, with an approximate budget of 4.2 million U.S. dollars provided by JICA.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) started providing technical assistance to Tajikistan in 1991, and Representative Office of JICA in Tajikistan was established in 2006. The aggregate amount of grant aid provided by Japan is 140 million U.S. dollars, and the aggregate amount of technical assistance provided by JICA is 41 million U.S. dollars. JICA implements the following projects in Tajikistan: Project for Maternal and Child Health, Project for Water supply, Project for Improvement of Agricultural Extension Services through Reinforcing Agrarian Organizations, Project for Road Improvement and Maintenance, and Training Programs for Capacity Building. Within the framework of Training Programs for Capacity Building, JICA provides opportunity for 5 Tajik officials per year to make master degree in Japan and JICA also sends to Japan almost 100 Tajik officials per year for Training courses.
