DUSHANBE, October 17, 2014, Asia-Plus -- A number of documents were signed during the Economic and Investment Forum “Dushanbe 2014: Entrepreneurship – the Engine of the Economy” that took place in the Tajik capital on October 15.        

According to News Bulletin # 47 of the Secretariat of the Consultative Council on Improvement of Investment Climate in Tajikistan, the Forum was attended by more than 500 national and foreign entrepreneurs and investors, representatives of a number of international organizations such as United Nations Organization, World Bank (WB), International Financial Corporation (IFC), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), diplomatic missions active in Tajikistan, experienced scientists and skilled experts, enterprises as well as heads of relevant government bodies.

The aim of the event was to promote the country as an investment destination and to inform the global financial community about recent steps taken by the government towards a better investment climate.

The opening address was given by Tajik President, Emomali Rahmon.  Following the President’s address, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Director for Central Asia, Masaru Honma, spoke about the Bank’s commitment to Tajikistan, where, he said, further reforms will stimulate investment, both local and foreign.

A number of memorandums were signed during the Forum: 1) Memorandum between the State Committee on Investment and State-owned Property Management of Tajikistan and the Methanol Institution on partnership and cooperation; 2) Memorandum between the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Tajikistan and the Association of Health Society on Quality of the Russian Federation on development of health education system in accordance with Public-Private Partnership Mechanism; 3) Memorandum between the Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO) and Glinkore  International (Switzerland) on establishment of cooperation; and 4) Memorandum between State Committee on Investment and State-owned Property Management of Tajikistan and the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe on establishment of business incubators.

According to the EBRD resident Office in Dushanbe, on the sidelines of the forum, the Financial Times (FT) and the EBRD teamed up to start a dialogue between investors and the government.  The event, titled “FT-EBRD Leadership Briefing”, was held in a format that enabled an open and frank exchange of ideas (under the Chatham House Rule).  The event was held in partnership with GIZ, the German development agency, KfW, the German development bank and the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group.

The FT-EBRD briefing reportedly touched on many important subjects such as investment climate, Russian economic slow-down and steps towards more transparency both on the regulators’ side and on the private sector’s side.  Participants included investors from China, India, Russia, Singapore, the West and many other destinations.

One subject brought up by many speakers was the need for Tajikistan to promote itself in the world and to boast its potential in order to attract more investment interest.

Tajikistan has been growing rapidly in the past few years; in the last two years, GDP grew by over 7 per cent annually, reducing somewhat in 2014 due to the slow-down in Russia.