Jeddah, KSA, 7 January 2016 – The President of the Republic of Tajikistan, His Excellency Emomali Rahmon, and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) President, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, have discussed ways to enhance cooperation in the areas of trade and infrastructure projects.

The meeting took place during President Rahmon’s official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

President Rahmon reiterated his eagerness to strengthen his country’s partnership with IDB, particularly in areas such as roads, power generation, agriculture, support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), promoting food security, attracting investments, private sector development and two-way trade. He said that bolstering these sectors would help improve Tajikistan’s economy and create job opportunities for youngsters, areas especially important during the difficult economic times
facing the region.

Dr. Ali expressed his condolences to those affected by the earthquake that hit Tajikistan on 7 December 2015. He affirmed IDB’s readiness to provide support to help mitigate the damage caused by the earthquake. This will include funding programs to rehabilitate roads, schools and health centers.

During the meeting, Dr. Ali presented a brief of IDB’s work in Tajikistan. He underscored the government’s high level of cooperation with IDB for implementing development programs and projects. Dr. Ali discussed IDB’s commitment to the economic priorities of Tajikistan aimed at elevating the living standards of its citizens. He also explained IDB’s role in the Coordination Group to support full socio-economic development in Tajikistan.

The Coordination Group comprises “Abu Dhabi Fund for Development”, “Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development”, “Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa”, “Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development”, “Arab Monetary Fund”, “IDB”, “Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development”, “OPEC Fund for International Development”, and “Saudi Fund for Development”.

Since 1996, when Tajikistan joined IDB, to date, the Bank has approved US $337.2 million for projects in Tajikistan focusing on power generation, roads and transport, agriculture, education and health.