DUSHANBE (TCA) — Tajikistan’s economy received around $220 million in investments in the first half of this year, Avesta news agency reported citing Kodiri Kosim, chairman of the State Committee of Investment and State Property Management.
Kosim told a news conference on August 4 that China accounted for $142 million of that amount, Russia for $35 million, and Great Britain for $12 million.
The official also said that Chinese investments in the Tajik economy have grown while Russian investments have been on the decline. In the first half of this year, Russian investments decreased by $28 million compared to the same period last year. The reason is the economic crisis in Russia.
Kosim also said that Chinese investments are mainly directed at the finance sector, communications, geological prospecting, construction, production of oil products, and agriculture.
In the meantime, Tajikistan’s Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Umed Davlatzod, told a news conference on August 3 that Tajikistan needs to shift from the current economic model to targeted, specialized investments.
He described the current economic model as consumption-oriented.
In his words, the majority of money remittances received from Tajik labor migrants working abroad are spent for buying cars and imported goods, and the money goes out of Tajikistan, developing the economies of other countries.
The Tajik government should create conditions for such huge amounts of money stay in Tajikistan, creating new jobs and developing the domestic economy.
