As of January 1, Tajikistan’s public debt amounted to 3.7 billion U.S. dollars, which is equal to 46.8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), Tajik Finance Minister Jamshed Karimzoda told reporters in Dushanbe on February 19.
Public debt can be raised both externally and internally, where external debt is the debt owed to lenders outside the country and internal debt represents the government's obligations to domestic lenders.
According to the minister, the external debt accounts for 85 percent (3.2 billion U.S. dollars) of the public debt and the external debt accounts for 15 percent (500 million U.S. dollars).
Last year, Tajikistan’s external debt reportedly increased by 300 million U.S. dollars, while its internal debt decreased by more than 200 million U.S. dollars.
Last year, the country’s external debt increased mainly due to the attraction of a US$189.5 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The main creditor of Tajikistan is China (about $ 1.2 billion). Debts due to placement of government bonds (Eurobonds) in international financial markets amount to US$500 million. There are also comparatively large debts to the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and IMF.
Government bills issued for recapitalization of two troubled banks – Agroinvestbonk and Tojiksodirotbonk – reportedly account for more than 40 percent of the country’s internal debt.
Meanwhile, despite a considerable amount of debts accumulated, the Tajik government is not going to discontinue the practice of foreign borrowing, and is planning to borrow 453 million U.S. dollars this year.
