DUSHANBE, September 18, 2012, Asia-Plus — Tajikistan’s migration situation is unique and no one of scenarios I know is suited for Tajikistan, Mr. Sudharshan Canarajah, Task Team Leader, Central Asia Regional Migration Program – World Bank Component, said at a meeting with Safiallo Devonayev, Chairman of the Migration Service under the Government of Tajikistan, which took place here on September 17.
According to him, Tajikistan must find its own way for seeking solution to the labor migration problems, the press center of the Tajik migration service agency said.
Mr. Sudharshan Canarajah reportedly noted that Tajikistan has made a considerable progress in that case within a short space of time.
“Many issues that Tajikistan has solved in a year, the Philippines, for example, have solved in ten years,” said the World Bank Senior Economist. “However, competition for manpower in the international labor market is entering more acute phase and Tajikistan is not yet ready for this.”
Head of the World Bank Mission [in Tajikistan] considers that taking into account the significance of the labor migration problem for Tajikistan it is necessary to set up pre-migration training centers for pre-migration preparation in the country, the Migration Service’s press center said.
The World Bank Advisor Thomas D. Achacoso noted that labor migration was a main source for development of Tajikistan’s economy.
The Central Asia Regional Migration Program (CARMP), jointly implemented by IOM/UN Women and the World Bank, aims to contribute to poverty reduction in Central Asia through the improved livelihoods of migrant men, women, and their families. Specific Program purposes on the country level are protection of the rights of labor migrants to enhance economic & social opportunities of migrant men, women and their families and fostering legal employment channels for labor migrants.
According to various sources, an estimated more than one million Tajik seasonal workers travel abroad each year, primarily to Russia but also to neighboring Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Over the first six months of this year, Tajik labor migrants working in the Russian Federation have reportedly remitted more than 1.4 billion U.S. dollars to banks in Tajikistan.
