On Sunday December 3, Tajik president Emomali Rahmon met in Dushanbe with the President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, on the sidelines of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The Tajik president’s official website says the parties discussed state and prospects of further expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and this international financial institution.
In this regard, Emomali Rahmon reportedly considered the WB’s contribution to financing adaptation measures to the consequences of climate change and their prevention as important.
Tajik leader considered the World Bank one of the main partners of Tajikistan in the field of development and expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation with it.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the current state of cooperation in the fields of water and energy, agriculture, environment and rural development, economic policy, development of the health sector, education, urban planning and poverty reduction.
Tajik president reportedly emphasized the need to continue the implementation of the CASA-1000 high-voltage transmission line project, which connects the energy market of Central and South Asia through Afghanistan.
Recall, the World Bank Board of Executive Directors on November 22 approved additional financing for Tajikistan to continue implementation of two projects: The Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000) and CASA Community Support Project. The CASA-1000 project, which started in January 2018, is a regional power interconnection project aiming to facilitate the transfer of 1,300 MW of surplus renewable hydropower from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan. The main objective is to enable electricity trade between Central Asia and South Asia to increase economic benefits and reliable access to energy supply for household and business consumers in these countries.
Besides, Emomali Rahmon and Ajay Banga reportedly outlined comprehensive and structural reforms in Tajikistan’s economy, especially in the fields of electrical communication, digitization, civil aviation and improvement of the investment environment, as one of important areas of the bilateral cooperation.
During the meeting, the parties also exchanged views on a number other issues being of mutual of interest.
At the end of the meeting, Emomali Rahmon invited the President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, to visit Tajikistan. This invitation was accepted with pleasure.
According to the Tajik president’s official website, the World Bank is currently financing 28 projects in Tajikistan, totaling $1.5 billion.
Since 1996, the World Bank has provided almost $2.94 billion in grants from the International Development Association (IDA), highly concessional credits, and trust funds for Tajikistan.
Source: Asia Plus