DUSHANBE, May 12, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- On Tuesday May 12, President Emomali Rahmon received Mr. Axel Schimmelpfennig, the head of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) mission to Tajikistan, who arrived in Dushanbe to attend a conference of donor countries and organizations, according to presidential press service.

In the course of the talks, the two discussed state and prospects of cooperation between Tajikistan and the IMF.

President Rahmon expressed gratitude to the IMF for some $116 million loan approved for Tajikistan to help the country’s economy adjust to the impact of the global crisis.

We will recall that the IMF Executive Board last month approved a three-year, about US$116 million arrangement under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) for Tajikistan to support the authorities'' economic program.  The decision enables Tajikistan to draw some 40 million US dollars from the IMF immediately.

For his part, Mr. Schimmelpfennig expressed satisfaction with the results of implementation of the PRGF that has been implemented in Tajikistan under support of the IMF and noted that the Fund was able to provide financial aid of 30 million US dollars starting from September this year, the press service said.

The sides also discussed other ways of providing assistance to Tajikistan as well as issues related to solving the cotton sector debt problem, improving investment climate in the country and expanding regional cooperation in Central Asia.

It was noted that issues related to determining the volume of a new financial-technical assistance to the country under conditions of the global financial crisis as well as efficient implementation of the programs and projects would be discussed at a meeting of heads of relevant ministries and organizations with representatives of donor countries and organizations that would be held in Dushanbe tomorrow.