The primary goals of both institutions are to improve the lives of ordinary people and help the country achieve sustainable development

Dushanbe, 23 September 2008 – Today, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank (WB) carried out the fourth joint review of their Tajikistan portfolio operations called the Country Portfolio Performance Review (CPPR). The overall objective of the portfolio review process is to help the country improve effectiveness and efficiency in the use of funds (loans and grants) provided by the ADB and WB for the purposes of public investment and development policy support. The three previous reviews took place in March 2004, June 2005 and October 2006 resulting in adoption of time-bound action plans to address critical issues relating to portfolio management. The State Committee of Investments and State Property Management was instrumental in preparing and conducting the CPPR and implementing the recommended measures.

The meeting was chaired by Mr. Matlubkhon Davlatov, the State Economic Adviser to the President of Tajikistan, Mr. Makoto Ojiro, the Asian Developoment Bank Country Director for Tajikistan, and Ms. Chiara Bronchi, the World Bank Country Manager for Tajikistan.

Actions undertaken according to results of the last CPPR in October 2006 included measures to improve the developmental impacts of projects and the project management.  Good progress has also been achieved in the harmonization of procedures, project activities, and strategies. But despite the recent progress, some other issues listed in the 2006 CPPR action plan require more attention, and they among others have been the focus of the meeting.

Specific objectives of the current CPPR were to (i) review progress since the last portfolio review in 2006, (ii) identify generic issues affecting current and future projects’ implementation and define remedial actions, (iii) update the ADB, WB and the Government on the relevance and impact of project portfolio; and (iv) inform about the proposed Joint Country Support Strategy (JCSS) currently under preparation by donors.

Representatives of the Government, project implementation units and project implementing agencies, the World Bank, and ADB participated at the review meeting. Among the major generic issues discussed at the CPPR were development impacts, project management issues, and prototypes for management of the project implementation.

The meeting identified insufficient project disbursement rates, fiduciary management and taxation as main issues that the Government and the banks need to make a special emphasis on to achieve better performance of the projects. A set of specific actions has been identified to tackle all of the above issues.

Tajikistan became a member of WB in 1993 and ADB in 1998. As a low-income country, with per capita GDP of US$ 437 in 2007, Tajikistan receives highly concessional financing from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) and ADB’s Asian Development Fund (ADF) in form of loans and grants. In fiscal year 2007, Tajikistan was eligible for 45 percent grant financing from IDA and 50% grant from ADF. In fiscal year 2008, the IDA and ADF grant financing was changed to 100 percent due to high risk to debt distress.

The total joint ADB-WB active portfolio stands at US$ 491 million in 2008. The top three sectors of portfolio’s concentration include the agricultural and rural development, energy and transport sectors accounting for three-forth of total commitment of the portfolio. Agriculture and rural development is a leading sector accounting for 33% followed by energy (21%) and transport (19%).