An international investment forum, dubbed Pamir Invest 2022, which took place in Khorog, the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), on August 17, ended with signing of 20 agreement in a total amount of 950 million somonis (equivalent to more than 92 million U.S. dollars).
The State Committee on Investment and State-owned Property Management (GosKomInvest) says the forum brought together more than 150 people, including senior representatives of relevant ministries and agencies of Tajikistan, entrepreneurs from various regions of the countries, and investors from Russia, China, Turkey and Kazakhstan.
The forum reportedly featured three panels: Attraction of Domestic and Foreign Investments in GBAO’s Economy; Development of GBAO’s Industrial and Energy Sectors; and Business Development Opportunities in the Tourism Sector and Attraction of Investments in Tourism Infrastructure.
Besides, a number of B2B meetings were held on the sidelines of the Forum. The GBAO government reported that the meetings resulted in signing of 30 agreements worth “one billion somonis.”
GosKomInvest says the agreements provide for direct collaboration in mining, construction and agrarian sectors as well as organization IT parks in the region.
It is to be noted this year was the first time the forum was reportedly celebrated on such a large scale and with international bigwigs in attendance.
State-run news agency Khovar cited First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection Imomnazar Imomzoda as describing the forum as aimed at creating local jobs.
According to data from GosKomInvest, US$3.7 million of foreign direct investments were attracted in GBAO’s economy in 2021, which only 1.1 percent of the overall volume of such capital investment in the country.
In 2008-2021, the flow of foreign investment in the economy of this autonomous region amounted to US$103,7 million, which is equal to 1% of the total volume of foreign capital attracted in the country’s economy over these years.
Meanwhile, the transport communication between GBAO and other parts of Tajikistan, which plays a key role in attraction of investments, has worsened significantly over the past decade.
The highway connecting Dushanbe and GBAO’s capital, Khorog, remains in a dilapidated state in the territory of the region. Rehabilitation of the highway in the territory of GBAO has been postponed since 2015.
Recall, the Pamir Invest Forum has been held in GBAO since 2011. The annual event is designed to drum up business in the GBAO. The purpose of the Forum is to present investment opportunities, to intensify the process of attracting capital, to strengthen the process of production of import-substitutable products, to increase export capacity, to expand cooperation between entrepreneurs and investors, and present opportunities for the development of modern entrepreneurship and, in general, to contribute to the expansion of the execution of the fourth strategic goal related to industrialization of the country and stabilization of the economic and social indicators of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region.
