DUSHANBE, January 20, 2016, Asia-Plus – In his address to a joint meeting of both houses of the parliament, President Emomali Rahmon noted today that despite economic crisis in the main trading partners of Tajikistan, the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year rose 6 percent, reaching 48 billion somoni.
In 2015, the year-end inflation stood at 5.0 percent, the president said, noting that Tajikistan’s poverty rate decreased to 31 percent last year.
According to him, bank deposits have reached nine billion somoni by the end of the last year.
“The global crisis has strongly affected Tajikistan’s economy and external trade turnover of our country reduced by 18 percent last year,” said Rahmon. “The government has devised an anti-crisis plan that provides for launching new industrial enterprises and creating new jobs.”
More than 300,000 new jobs will be created in the country in the near future, the president said.
“Wages for posts and current base wage rates of the staff of institutions and organizations which are funded from the state budget, including wages for special military ranks, servicemen and the staff of the power-wielding agencies will be raised by 15 percent from July 1, 2016,” noted Rahmon. “Wages of employees of the educational, scientific, cultural and sports spheres will be raised by 20 percent; wages of employees of the social sector will be raised by 25 percent; pensions will be raised by 20 percent, student grants will be raised by 30 percent, and the minimum wage will be raised by 60 percent and it will amount to 400.00 somoni against the current 250.00 somoni.”
1.323 billion somoni will be needed per year for implementation of this plan, the president said.
