Tajikistan Business Economy - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 127 - 132 of 165

Tajikistan and EU Enter Third Round of Negotiations on Partnership and Cooperation

On April 8 and 9, Luc Devigne, Deputy Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia at the European External Action Service, and Ismatullo Nasredin, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan convened in Dushanbe for a third round of negotiations on a new comprehensive framework for strengthening their bilateral relations. According to the Delegation of the European Union to Tajikistan, the negotiations for an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA), launched in February 2023, represent an important milestone in the EU’s relations with Tajikistan. In line with the EU-Central Asia Strategy, it aims to strengthen cooperation regarding political relations, trade, key economic sectors, as well as the rule of law and human rights. The EU Delegation reported that substantial progress had been made during the third round of negotiations between European Union and Tajikistan, and in the future, the EU-Tajikistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, in place since 2010, will be known as the EPCA.

Central Asia Turkmenistan Tajikistan Tajikistan Business Economy Turkmenistan Business & Economy Business & Economy

Turkmenistan Poised to Supply Energy Resources to Tajikistan

Energy-rich Turkmenistan is now ready to increase its supply of oil products, as well as electricity and natural gas to Tajikistan through the territory of Uzbekistan. The announcement was made by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, chairman of Turkmenistan’s People’s Council, during negotiations with Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe on April 4th. With an emphasis on the need to increase bilateral trade, the meeting focused on the expansion of Tajik-Turkmen cooperation in oil and gas, chemistry, industry, and agriculture. Berdimuhamedov identified transport as a priority vector in the two countries’ partnership stating, “Today there is every opportunity to intensify cooperation to create a transport route from Tajikistan to Turkmenistan’s Caspian coast, with further access to Iran and on to the Persian Gulf and Turkey. This is the shortest route from China to Europe and the Middle East.” The two leaders also addressed environmental issues and in particular, strengthening the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS); a key structure aimed at ensuring cooperation in improving the environmental and socio-economic situation in the Aral Sea region.

Central Asia Uzbekistan Tajikistan Business Economy Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan International Affairs Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan Business & Economy Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Business & Economy Kyrgyzstan Business & Economy Kyrgyzstan Features

In Fear of Sanctions, Kyrgyz Banks Shun Russian Cards

Kyrgyzstan's Interbank Processing Center (IPC) reports that on April 5 it will stop servicing the Russian payment system 'MIR'. The decision was made "to minimize the risk of secondary sanctions." Interbank is a Kyrgyz company that services the national payment system, called ElCard. In 2019 Interbank entered into a partnership with MIR, so that citizens of both countries could pay with their domestic bank cards while in either Russia or Kyrgyzstan. On February 23 the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which is responsible for controlling foreign assets that involve U.S. dollars and/or the U.S. banking system, imposed sanctions on Russia's MIR. Earlier, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic told The Times of Central Asia that it doesn't interfere in the activities of commercial banks in Kyrgyzstan, but only monitors compliance with the country's legislation on combating the financing of terrorist activities and laundering of criminal proceeds. Therefore, Kyrgyz banks can independently decide whether or not to work with the Russian payment system. Kyrgyz banks that have accounts with western financial organizations ceased working with the MIR system in 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. After ElCard severed its ties with the Russians, all financial organizations in Kyrgyzstan also stopped accepting MIR cards. This decision has hit Kyrgyz citizens in Russia as well, because Russian ATMs and POS terminals have stopped accepting their ElCards. But, as the Kyrgyz National Bank has explained, this decision will not affect international transfers. "It should be noted that the possibility of money transfers from the Kyrgyz Republic to the Russian Federation and vice versa with the use of mobile applications of commercial banks in the presence of direct contractual relations between Kyrgyz and Russian commercial banks, as well as through money transfer systems without opening an account, will remain," Kyrgyzstan's financial regulator writes on its website. Banks in several other Central Asian countries have refused to cooperate with MIR, also for fear of falling under U.S. sanctions. Since February 27 banks in Kazakhstan have stopped servicing MIR cards. At the same time, the Central Bank of Kazakhstan emphasizes that each Kazakh bank makes this decision independently. "Our position is as follows: we as a first-tier bank do not interfere in the operating system of second-tier banks... It is their commercial interests, economic expediency. They calculate their own risks and benefits by having compliance services," said the Central Bank's bank's press service at the time. Besides Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, Armenia has refused to cooperate with the MIR system for the same reasons. And now Tajikistan -- and even Moscow's closest ally, Belarus -- are distancing themselves from it. The national payment systems of these countries -- Belarus's Belkart and Tajikistan's Korti Milli -- had agreements with the Russians that are similar to MIR's arrangement with the Kyrgyz. Currently Uzbek banks do not accept the MIR payment system either, as the UZCARD processing center has suspended work with the Russian system. In response, the Russian Central Bank has commented...

Central Asia Tajikistan Life & Culture Tajikistan Tajikistan Business Economy Business & Economy Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Business & Economy Kazakhstan Home

New Somon Air Flights from Dushanbe to Astana

On 2 April, Somon Air launched direct flights between the capitals of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Direct flights between Astana and Dushanbe will now operate twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. Praising the initiative, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport stated that the Astana-Dushanbe air route will have a significant impact on furthering the development of trade, business, investment and tourism between Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Somon Air currently operates regular flights between Tajikistan and Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The airline’s fleet consists of Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 737-900 aircraft.

Central Asia Tajikistan Local Politics Tajikistan Tajikistan Business Economy

Tajikistan Intensifies Efforts to Train Locals for Work Abroad

Tajikistan is stepping up efforts to teach its citizens global job skills which will facilitate access to higher-paying trades and expand the range of migrant-labor opportunities. The state-administered Adult Education Center of Tajikistan offers training in more than 100 professions, with new specializations emerging every year. This year, the Asian Development Bank project plans to open three modern centers in Tajikistan for pre-departure training of migrants. These centers will train specialists in demand in the labor market, providing relevant international certificates. In addition, foreign languages, financial literacy and the basics of law and legal processes of different countries will be taught. According to Deputy Labor Minister Shakhnoza Nodiri, working abroad is crucial for Tajik citizens to earn more. A worker's qualifications are becoming one of the important requirements in the labor market, and the need for specifically trained personnel will grow in the future. Russia remains one of the key destination countries for migrant labor from Tajikistan. Under a 2023 agreement on organized employment of citizens of Tajikistan with the Russian Federation, the Agency for Employment Abroad placed about 5,000 Tajiks, or 77% of the 6,500 Tajik foreign workers they placed abroad, into positions in Russia. At the beginning of 2024, representatives of about 40 companies seeking employees from 13 countries visited the Agency for Employment Abroad to engage with Tajikistan's labor resources. Most of the requests came from companies in Russia -- where more than 100 companies applied to hire more than 20,000 workers from Tajikistan. In addition to Russia, last year Tajik citizens were employed in Turkey, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, the UAE and Japan. Currently Tajikistan's Ministry of Labor, Migration and Employment is actively working on signing agreements on labor migration with the UK, the U.S., Korea, Canada, Germany, Singapore, the Philippines and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In that way, Tajikistan is strengthening its efforts to diversify the geographical pathways of labor migration, helping to give Tajik migrant laborers a choice in where to go.

Central Asia Tajikistan International Affairs Tajikistan Tajikistan Business Economy

EU Allocates $49 Million to Tajikistan for Energy Projects

The European Union has given Tajikistan €91 million ($99 million) for priority projects in the country under the first phase of the EU Multiannual Indicative Program (MIP) from 2021 to 2024. This was reported by Tajikistan's Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. At a recent meeting, the EU representatives announced that they are prepared to give Tajikistan a €45 million ($49 million) grant for energy projects. Under the direction of the EU's ambassador to Tajikistan Raimundas Karoblis and Tajikistan’s deputy minister for economic development Ashurboy Solehzoda, the parties “stated that they were ready to increase their mutually beneficial cooperation" at the meeting. By the end of 2023, trade between Tajikistan and the EU was valued at $401.5 million ($437 million), according to the economy ministry. The department had previously stated that Tajikistan-EU trade was valued at $490 million in 2022, meaning that volumes fell by 22% in 2023.