On April 12, 2016 the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan opened the Sixteenth Session of the Consultative Council on Improvement of Investment Climate under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan.

The session began with the report from Qodiri Qosim, the Executive Secretary of the Council and Chairman of the State Committee on Investments and State Property Management, on the progress of the implementation of the Council’s past decisions. At the previous session, the Council made decisions on the development of industry and support for national producers, on lowering export costs for competitive products, and increasing access to electricity for businesses. The Fifteenth Session also addressed the development of the insurance market, a timely review of requests from entrepreneurs, the stable development of businesses and investments inflows as well as the establishment of Entrepreneurship Day.

It was noted that 14 October 2015, the first anniversary of Entrepreneurship Day, with the participation of the Founder of Peace and National Unity, the Leader of the Nation, the President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmon, was marked by a number of business events and culminated in the International Business Forum Dushanbe - 2015, “Entrepreneurship and Investment for Sustainable Development”.

The Secretary of the Council, Qodiri Qosim, noted that in response to the decisions of the Council, the Government developed the Laws of the Republic of Tajikistan on Investment, On Inspection of Business Entities, and the Government Action Plan for the development of the secondary securities market and stock exchanges, taking into account best international practices. He observed that the draft Government Action Plan on industry and support for entrepreneurs in manufacturing had been finalized in coordination with the relevant ministries and agencies and presented to the Government for consideration.

On the second agenda item dedicated to the agricultural sector, Mr. Izatullo Sattori, the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Tajikistan, reported that an inter-ministerial working group under the Ministry of Agriculture had completed a comprehensive analysis of the agricultural sector to identify ways to improve the investment climate and promote agribusiness. The working group elaborated 104 specific recommendations and a 39-point plan of action, which will help to improve the investment climate in the agricultural sector and promote agribusiness development.

The third agenda item of the Council session addressed taxation. Mr. Nematullo Hikmatullozoda, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Tajikistan, on the basis of a preliminary analysis of the taxation system, highlighted the existing shortcomings in tax administration and outlined possible ways to address them.

Ms. Kerstin Laabs, KFW Director in Tajikistan and the deputy Head of the Donor Coordination Council representing Development Partners noted the importance of the tax system evaluation and expressed the readiness of development partners to support a detailed study of the tax system and development of specific recommendations for the government.

Mr. Qodiri Qosim, summarizing key points and decisions from the Session, proposed to consider investment and business climate issues in the transport sector at the upcoming session of the Consultative Council. The selection of the topic for the agenda was unanimously approved by members of the Council.

Representatives from the private sector and Development Partners also made respective presentations.

Ms. Nabot Dodkhudoeva, the Head of LLC Madina and Partners, spoke on the role of the private sector in implementing the previous decisions of the Council: creating jobs through the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises, translating local resources into final products, and the full processing of fruit and vegetables.

Mr. Richard Jones, Head of the Representative Office of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in Tajikistan, praised the role of the Consultative Council as a public-private dialogue platform to improve the investment and business climate in the country. EBRD’s contribution to the development of the private sector, through financing infrastructure projects, including in energy, industry and the financial services, was also noted.

Further, Mr. Shorauf Sharahmatov, the Head of the Agribusiness Association of Tajikistan, noted the potential adverse impact of the draft Farming Accounting Regulation which is currently under development. The regulation, by introducing additional expenses and representing a distraction for farmers, would likely be detrimental to the efficiency of the agricultural sector.

Mr. Viorel Gutu, Head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Tajikistan, spoke of the need for agricultural reform across all value-chains, for the introduction of various financial incentives and for the expansion of ‘extension services’ to attract investment for agribusiness. In addition, a greater commercialization of seed, equipment and agricultural insurance would help to support farmers. Mr. Gutu also emphasised the need to strengthen the national Food Safety System and further reduce barriers to trade.

On the conclusion of the session, the Prime Minister tasked the responsible Ministries and Agencies with implementing the corresponding provisions of the decisions taken by the Council.