DUSHANBE, January 14, 2012, Asia-Plus – Press Café on the issues of latest changes and amendments to the Custom Code of Tajikistan, approved by members of the lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of  Parliament in Tajikistan in December 2011 was held in Dushanbe on January.

The event was organized by the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tajikistan in cooperation with Hilfswerk Austria International in Tajikistan, within the European Union financed program Central Asia - Invest II “Integrated Approach Towards Promoting Central Asia Nuts, Dried fruits and Honey Processing SMEs.”

According to the Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan, the overall objective of the project is the inclusive development of processing sector in Central Asia through the strengthening the capacity of specialized business intermediary organizations, to improve the quality of services, offered by SME and promoting regional integration of Central Asia in the global market.  The members of the lower house of Parliament in Tajikistan had approved the changes to the Custom Code of Tajikistan at the regular meeting of the third session of the Majlisi Namoyandagon of the fourth convocation held in December 2011.

The representatives of relevant government agencies, fruit and vegetable processors and representatives of local and international non-governmental organizations participated in the Press Café.

The main goal of the event was to raise the public awareness on the latest changes and amendments to the Custom Code of the Republic of Tajikistan, approved by members of the lower house of parliament.

National Association of Small and Medium Business of Tajikistan (NASMB) is a nongovernmental, nonprofit membership organization, which unites small and medium sized companies as well as business support organizations and other business related organizations, promotes their interests and protects their rights via provision of different valuable services.  NASMB was established in 1993 and has been re-registered with the Ministry of Justice on March 4, 2008.

Hilfswerk Austria International – is a non-profit, cross-denominational and non-partisan organization providing both international and humanitarian aid for victims of war and environmental disasters as well as long-term development assistance.  Hilfswerk Austria International has been working in Tajikistan since 2001.  The main areas of activity – assistance to victims of natural disasters, agricultural development, support of small and medium enterprises, income generation, development of organizations and civil society building.

The European Union is made up of 27 Member States who have decided to gradually link together their know-how, resources and destinies. Together, during a period of enlargement of 50 years, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. The European Union is committed to sharing its achievements and its values with countries and peoples beyond its borders. To this end the EU is active in Tajikistan since 1992 and provides approximately EUR 25 million annually in development assistance.