ADB recommends Tajikistan improve investment climate for steady GDP growth
DUSHANBE. April 12 (Interfax) - Steady GDP growth in Tajikistan is only possible if the country attracts private foreign investment, which is not possible without serious improvements to the investment climate, Asian Development Bank's Country Director for Tajikistan Joji Tokeshi told the press Wednesday.
Tokeshi presented the annual Asian Development Outlook (ADO) report, which outlines the successes of the ADB member country economies in 2011 and the outlook for 2012-2013.
"To achieve steady economic growth in the mid-term, Tajikistan needs to eliminate key barriers to private investment, including factors holding back foreign investment," he said.
"The private sector still only accounts for less than half of GDP and private investment less than 5% of GDP," he said.
Supported by the high volume of money transfers from Russia and growth in agriculture, the services sector and industry, GDP growth speeded up to 7.4% in 2011 from 6.5% in 2010, the ADO says.
"The rise in international prices for food and fuel and the high level of money transfers, helping to increase domestic demand for imports, increased the average annual level of inflation almost from 6.5% in 2010 to 12.5% in 2011, although basic inflation, without food and fuel, remained moderate at 5.7%," ADB economist in Tajikistan Kakhorodzhon Aminov said during the presentation.
