DUSHANBE, January 25, 2014, Asia-Plus — Richard Jones has been appointed new Head of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Residence Office (RO) in Dushanbe, replacing Ulf Hindstrom.
According to press release issued by EBRD, the new Head of RO will hold introductory meetings with local authorities on January 27-29, including meeting Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, key government ministers and state committees.
This appointment coincides with the opening of the new EBRD office in Dushanbe at 34 Roudaki Avenue in Tcell Plaza. The opening ceremony will take place in Dushanbe on January 27.
The ceremony will be followed by a presentation of the Bank’s annual Transition Report, which analyses the state of reforms in the EBRD region. The event will be held at Dushanbe Serena Hotel at 4:00 pm. EBRD Director for Central Asia Mr. Masaru Honma, Senior Political Counselor Mr. Mahir Babayev and Senior Economist Dr Agris Preimanis will also attend the presentation, which will be followed by a reception.
Mr. Richard Jones joined the EBRD in October 2003.
Following roles as adviser to the EU Executive Director and in the EBRD Energy Efficiency and Climate Change team, he joined the Donor Co-Financing team in 2008 and was appointed Director in 2009. Before joining the Bank, he worked in the UK civil service at HM Treasury and on secondment to the cabinet of Chris Patten, European Commissioner for External Relations. Previously he worked as a teacher in Harbin, China. Jones, who is a UK citizen, graduated from St Antony’s College, Oxford with an MPhil in Russian and East European Studies and from Trinity Hall, Cambridge with a BA in Modern and Medieval Languages (French and Russian).
The EBRD has been present in Tajikistan since 1992. During this time, the Bank has concentrated on financial and private sector development, as well as agribusiness, energy and municipal infrastructure, transport, telecommunications and general industry.
