DUSHANBE, February 4, 2015, Asia-Plus – An article entitled “Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan See Boosts in U.S. Aid” that was posted on Eurasianet.org’s website on February 3 notes that under the U.S. budget proposed on February 2, Tajikistan would get 28.4 million U.S. dollars in economic aid.
The article notes that while security assistance to Tajikistan remained about the same as from last year”s request, economic aid would be increased under this budget: from US$21.1 to US$28.4 million.
U.S. assistance is expected to enhance Tajikistan’s stability, particularly along its long and porous border with Afghanistan. Programs will help build economic resiliency so that Tajikistan is less reliant on remittances, which make up fifty percent of its GDP, and less vulnerable to external pressures. Assistance will strengthen local governance and provide training opportunities to secure skilled employment. Programs will address systemic problems that contribute to food shortages such as inequitable access to water, inadequate supplies of seeds and fertilizer, a lack of modern technologies, and poor farm practices. [Economic Support Funds] will also help increase literacy rates, help young people find employment, and support domestic energy policy reform to increase energy efficiency, the article says.
Meanwhile, Central Asia regional economic aid programs would get US$21.7 million (up from US$16.9 million last year).
U.S. assistance will continue to support regional cross-border activities under the New Silk Road initiative, which aims to further Afghanistan’s economic integration into the broader region and increase Central Asia’s access to diverse markets. Specifically, these resources will fund projects that increase economic growth and trade, including improving the transit of legal goods and services across borders, increase regional cooperation on the use of energy resources, increase cooperation and rational use of water and other natural resources, and improve governance along trade and transit corridors.
