Contacts:
In Dushanbe: Dilya Zoirova (+992-372) 21 07 56
dzoirova@worldbank.org
In Washington: Michael Jones (+1-202) 473 4215
mjones2@worldbank.org
Dushanbe, November 27, 2008 - Ms. Annette Dixon, the World Bank’s Director for the countries of Central Asia, will complete her assignment in the region next month to move to her next position as a Regional Director for South-East Asia. Under her farewell tour of the Central Asia region, Ms. Dixon has today ended her two-day visit to Tajikistan to hold final talks with the Tajik counterparts as an outgoing Regional Director.
Annette Dixon was appointed the World Bank Regional Director for Central Asia on February 15, 2007. For about one year prior to that she was an Acting Regional Director for Central Asia while at the same time working as a Director of Strategy and Operations in the Europe and Central Asia Region at the World Bank. As the Country Director for Central Asia, Ms. Dixon's top priorities were to lead the country teams and country programs in the five Central Asian Republics, paying particular attention to developing and implementing country strategies tailored to the specific development challenges of each country and, together with key development partners, to promote regional cooperation in Central Asia in order to integrate the economies of the five countries with the wider Central Asia Region and with the global economy. Ms. Dixon brought to the Bank significant social policy and management experience, in the Government of New Zealand. “During the last ten years that I have worked in the region and visited Tajikistan, I see the notable progress the country has achieved as it emerged from the civil war and economic crisis. But the country needs to further accelerate and deepen reforms in order to reinforce its growth and achieve sustainable development. With the current global financial crisis, Tajik Government needs to demonstrate greater prudence in managing the economy and the key sectors”, said Ms. Dixon. “Our paramount goal has always been to see the lives of ordinary Tajik people change for the better”. Under the leadership of Ms. Dixon, in addition to investment projects, as well as analytic and advisory services, the Bank has resumed its development policy funding support for the second generation of economic reforms in Tajikistan. Two Programmatic Development Policy Grants were provided to Tajikistan, which supported critical reforms that Tajikistan needed to move toward the economic growth and development of efficient country systems. During Annette Dixon’s tenure, a number of investment and technical assistance projects were also developed and approved by the World Bank’s Board of Directors, including the Public Sector Reform Project, the Project on Strengthening of the National Statistical System, the Cotton Sector Recovery Project, the Avian Influenza Preparedness and Response Project, and the Tajikistan Youth Social and Economic Opportunity Grant. Lately, the three Emergency Projects were approved by the Bank to tackle problems related to energy, food security, and maternal and child nutrition. These emergency grants were provided by the Bank in response to the severe energy crisis that hit Tajikistan last winter, and the compound food and nutrition crisis resulting from the global food and energy crisis. These projects are set to help thousands of vulnerable people in Tajikistan. The World Bank’s mission in Tajikistan is to promote economic growth, reduce poverty, and encourage a better quality of life. The country became a member of the World Bank on June 4, 1993. The World Bank’s overall mission in Tajikistan is to promote economic growth, reduce poverty, and encourage a better quality of life. The World Bank plays a role as the catalyst of change and an institution bringing global experience to developing countries.
For more information about the World Bank in Tajikistan, please visit
http://www.worldbank.org/tj
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