EU to allocate 250 mln euros to Tajikistan
By Aynur Jafarova
The European Union (EU) will allocate 250 million euros to Tajikistan for development of education, health care and rural development in the country.
These remarks were made during a meeting of Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojidin Aslov with EU Special Representative for Central Asia Patricia Flor on December 12.
The funds will be allocated under the forthcoming cooperation program for 2014-2020.
The meeting discussed bilateral and regional projects implemented in Tajikistan by the EU and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership.
The two sides also exchanged views on the issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the EU and Tajikistan, including water management and environment issues, as well as situation in Central Asia.
Aslov and Flor expressed their visions on how to address the Afghan problem, as well as ways of dealing with threats to regional security and stability. They said the second round of high-level meeting of the EU - Central Asia Dialogue on Security, which is scheduled to be held in May, 2014 in Dushanbe, is well-timed.
Flor said cooperation between the EU and Tajikistan is developing dynamically and the EU appreciates this partnership.
Bilateral relations between Tajikistan and the EU have been governed by a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) since 2010.
Financial assistance is provided by the EU's Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) and focuses on rural development and poverty reduction, agriculture and land reform, promotion of good governance and economic reforms.
The EU and Tajikistan also cooperate in the framework of a regional approach, which includes all five Central Asian countries--the EU and Central Asia strategy for a new partnership (2007).
Tajikistan also participates in several ongoing regional and thematic programs.