DUSHANBE, July 2, 2014, Asia-Plus -- On June 27, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a grant agreement (G/A) with the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan to provide grant aid of up to a total of 1.694 million yen for assistance for two projects, according to JICA Country Office in Tajikistan.

The agreement was inked Grant Agreement was signed by the Foreign Affairs Minister Mr. Sirojiddin Aslov during his official visit to Japan and JICA Senior Vice-President Mr. Hideaki Domichi.

This cooperation will build regional water supply infrastructure in Panj district of Khatlon province and raise the capacity of government officials to support the supply of safe water in regions where it is needed in Tajikistan and to support efforts to develop human resources employed by the Government of Tajikistan.

The projects under the grant aid agreement that were signed are described below:

The Project for Rehabilitation of Drinking Water Supply Systems in Panj District, Khatlon Province (total amount of aid: 1.586 million yen).

According to 2011 data from Khojagii Manziliyu Komunali (State Unitary Enterprise for Housing Services), the access rate to safe drinking water in Tajikistan is a mere 48.6 percent.  There is a serious need for new water supply systems to provide access to safe drinking water. Currently, approximately 40 percent of households use surface water for drinking, and hundreds of thousands of people use irrigation water in summer and rely on water wagons in the winter months. With a population of approximately 100,000 people, Panj district in Khatlon province has a particularly low access rate to safe drinking water, 22 percent, and building water supply facilities in the district to supply safe drinking water to residents is a pressing issue. In this regard, in this project, water supply infrastructure will be built and maintenance and operation equipment installed in Panj district in order to improve local residents’ access to clean drinking water.

The Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (total amount of aid: 108 million yen).

In Tajikistan, the lack of capacity in the areas of organization, systems and financial affairs in ministries and agencies responsible for the development of the country is observed.  As improving the capacity of officials and building organization are of the highest order of importance, it is hoped that education in Japanese graduate schools will improve the capacity of government officials.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            This project will support up to five people in obtaining master’s degrees at Japanese universities. Pertaining to socioeconomic development in Tajikistan, this project aims to train younger officials who are expected to carry out important roles in government and who are the core of the future government. In addition, this foreign studies program will lead to a stronger bilateral partnership between Japan and Tajikistan through the building of human networks.