Tajikistan will receive funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) exclusively in the form of grants until the end of 2026, according to the new ADB Country Partnership Strategy for Tajikistan for 2026–2030.
The document notes that Tajikistan is currently classified as a Group A country, meaning it is eligible only for grant financing.
The International Development Association (IDA) is expected to classify Tajikistan as a financing-gap country starting July 1, 2026. If this occurs, ADB will adopt the IDA classification for Tajikistan beginning January 1, 2027, which would make the country eligible only for concessional lending.
Under the IDA classification, Group A countries are low-income states considered to be in the greatest need of international support and therefore receive financing primarily in the form of grants.
According to the projected scenario, ADB funding for Tajikistan will be entirely grant-based in 2026 and fully concessional lending in 2027–2028.
ADB representatives said the bank will support the Tajik government during this transition by helping improve public financial management, strengthen project selection and prioritization, and expand the use of innovative financial instruments.
“To ease the transition, ADB will actively mobilize concessional financing from climate funds, trust funds, and co-financing partners. The bank will also help attract non-sovereign and private capital that does not increase public debt,” ADB representatives said.
ADB and the Tajik government have also agreed to maintain the maximum level of joint financing for loans, grants, and technical assistance—up to 99% across the entire ADB project portfolio—given the current high risk of a debt crisis and the country’s adequate debt-servicing capacity.
Earlier, the Tajik government asked ADB to review the form of financial support provided to the country. Since 2018, the bank has provided Tajikistan exclusively with grant assistance due to the country’s high debt burden.
ADB’s Tajikistan’s partnership strategy for 2026-2030 focuses on three priorities: structural reforms to improve resource allocation and mobilization, boosting labor productivity through human capital development, and improving living standards through investments in the real sector of the economy.
Tajikistan joined ADB in 1998 and ADB remains one of Tajikistan’s largest multilateral development partners, with total development assistance amounting to about $3 billion, including more than $2.2 billion in grants. The partnership has delivered concrete results including upgrading roads connecting major cities across the country, modernizing key irrigation and water supply systems, and building hospitals and schools. ADB has also supported the construction of power transmission lines and electricity substations, the reconnection of the country’s electrical grid to the Central Asian power network, and the rehabilitation of the Nurek and Golovnaya hydropower plants.
