This note summarises work carried out by the OECD Eurasia Competitiveness Programme in consultation with the Tajik government, in close collaboration with the development community in Tajikistan, and with the participation of the private sector and business associations. The project was funded principally by the European Union and serves as the Policy Component of the Central Asia Invest Programme. The OECD would like to thank the representatives of ministries, the private sector, business associations, non-governmental organisations, and other stakeholders for their willingness to share valuable insights that contributed to the development of this note. The work was overseen on the Tajik side by His Excellency Mr Davlatali Said, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan.
The OECD would like to extend its gratitude to the following representatives of State Committee for Investment and State Property Management and Tajinvest: Mr Khurshed Mirzo, Current First Deputy Chairman; and Mr Merali Bodurshozoda, Head of the Single Window Unit on Investor Assistance. From Tajinvest the OECD would like to thank Mr Javokhirlai Muzaffari, Executive Director; and Mr Hans-Joachim Siegert, Expert in Tajinvest. The OECD would also like to recognise the contributions made by: Mr Ayubjon Maruf Solehzoda, First Deputy Chairman of the Tax Committee and Mr Umejon Khairiddinov, Deputy Head of the International Co-operation Department of the Tax Committee, Mr. Yusuf Majidi, Deputy Minister of Finance and Mr. Numon Abdughafforzoda, Head of the Secretariat of the Consultative Council on the Improvement of the Investment Climate.
Representatives of the private sector and business associations provided useful inputs during virtual discussions, and we are particularly grateful to: Ms Elena Son, Executive Director, of the US-Tajikistan Business Council; Mr Jamshed Jumakhonzoda of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Mr Jean-Jacques Kudela, Team Leader, Digital transition expert, Digital Capabilities Strategic Analysis of Tajikistan1. Similarly, the OECD thanks the interviewees from the private sector who dedicated their time to this report.
We also thank the international experts that provided valuable contributions to the report: Mr Tornike Zirakishvili, Enterprise Georgia; Mr Philippe Yvergniaux, Business France; and Ms Diana Ablyakimova, Kazakh Invest. The OECD Secretariat also received invaluable local support from Ms Veronika Grushevskaya in Tajikistan.
A number of representatives of the development community and academia provided further support to the work: Jan Peter Olters, former Country Director of the World Bank in Tajikistan; Nuraddin Murshudlu and Filippo Crivellaro, both Economic Officers at the OSCE; Muhammadi Boboev, Senior Economics Officer, at the Asian Development Bank (ADB); Anvar Ibragimov and Madina Nurmatova, both Operations Officers at the IFC, and lastly, both Anel Pirmakhanova and Nodira Mansurova, at the EBRD.
Finally, this report would not have been possible without the continued financial and diplomatic support of the European Union. Thanks are due to Mr Pierre Amilhat, Director, Directorate-General for International Co-operation and Development (DG DEVCO), European Commission (EC); Ms Raffaela Iodice, Head of Unit DEVCO Middle East, Central Asia, South Asia, DG DEVCO, F1 Unit, EC; Mr Daniel Weiss, Development Co-ordinator, Central Asia, DG DEVCO, EC; Mr Thomas Boyer, Programme Manager, DG DEVCO; Mr Johannes Stenbaek Madsen, Head of Co-operation Section, EU Delegation to Kazakhstan; Ms Silvia Pietropaolo, Programme Manager, EU Delegation to Kazakhstan; Mr Stefano Ellero, former Head of Co-operation of the EU Delegation to Tajikistan, Mr Marc Buchmann, current Head of Co-operation of the EU Delegation to Tajikistan, and Mr Francesco Straniero, Attaché at the EU Delegation to Tajikistan.
This report was prepared under the guidance of Mr Andreas Schaal, Director, OECD Global Relations and Co-operation; and Mr William Tompson, Head of the OECD Eurasia Division. The work was co-ordinated by Mr Grégory Lecomte, Head of the Central Asia Unit, OECD Eurasia Division. The main authors of this report are Ms Talisa zur Hausen and Ms Katrina Keegan, both Policy Analysts in the OECD Eurasia Division, with contributions from Mr Alexis Patin and Mr César Bernard, both Junior Policy Analysts in the OECD Eurasia Division. The report was reviewed by, and benefited from valuable input from, Mr Alexander Böhmer, Head of the South East Asia Division, Ms Peline Atamer, Deputy Head of Unit for Ukraine, and Mr Francesco Alfonso, Deputy Head of Unit for Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, OECD Eurasia Division, and Ms Amélie Schurich, Economist and Policy Analyst, OECD Eurasia Division. Final editorial and visual support was provided by Ms Elisa Larrakoetxea and Ms Mariana Tanova, OECD Eurasia Division.