Tajikistan eyes growth in remittances
By Kamila Aliyeva
The amount of money transfers to Tajikistan recovered in July 2018 after a three-month decline, ASIA-Plus reported.
“The growth in the amount of remittances to date is 7 percent compared to the same period last year. That is, it went up by about $ 90 million compared to the same period last year,” said the chairman of the Tajik National Bank Jamshed Nurmahmadzoda on July 25 at a press conference in Dushanbe.
He noted that in April-June this year there was a decrease in the volume of cash transfers compared to the same period in 2017.
“At the moment, the situation has stabilized and growth has begun,” Nurmahmadzoda said.
Last year, the volume of remittances to Tajikistan was about $ 2.6 billion.
Approximately 86 percent of remittances were received in Russian rubles, according to the chairman.
Since early 2016, remittances in rubles in Tajikistan have been issued exclusively in the national currency.
The head of the National Bank stressed that this measure helped keep the exchange rate of the national currency at a certain level, and the regulator does not intend to abandon this mechanism.
“The decision we made at that time positively influenced the exchange rate of the national currency. At the moment, we do not intend to change anything in this matter,” he added.
Tajikistan’s economy is heavily dependent on remittances from overseas workers. In 2017, a recovery in remittances contributed to growth, as well as narrowed the current account deficit. The economy grew by 7.1 percent as the external environment strengthened and public investment continued.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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