DUSHANBE, July 22, 2014, Asia-Plus -- Tajik central bank head notes that remittance flows from Russia to Tajikistan have declined inconsiderably.

“I do not have the right to release the exact volume of remittances sent to Tajikistan over the first half-year of 2014, but I can say that there is no a sharp decline in remittances flows to Tajikistan contrary to predictions, and over the first six months of this year remittance flows have declined only 2 percent,” Abdujabbor Shirinov, the head of the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), told journalists in Dushanbe on July 22.

We will recall that Tajik government stopped publishing information on the volume of remittances sent to Tajikistan in May last year.  Shirinov told journalists on July 23, 2013 that Tajikistan will no longer release cash transfer data.  “I''d rather not talk about migrants'' funds because this issue may be politicized,” Tajik central bank head said.

Meanwhile, 1.678 billion U.S. dollars have been remitted from Russia to Tajikistan over the first six months of this year.

According to Russia’s central bank, 644 million U.S. dollars has reportedly been sent through money transfer system to Tajikistan from the Russian Federation in the first quarter of this year, which was 35.7 million U.S. dollars fewer than in the same period last year.

The average sum of the remittances to Tajikistan over the report period has also declined -- from 310.00 U.S. dollars in January-March 2013 to 270.00 U.S. dollars in January-March 2014.

Jamshed Nourmahmadzoda, he head of Amonatbonk (Tajikistan’s savings bank), says 288 million U.S. dollars have been remitted to Tajikistan through Amonatbonk’s branches over the first six months of this year, which is 17 percent fewer than in the same period last year.