Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Shamseddin Hosseini has called the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to play a pivotal role in the joint project of hydropower transfer from Tajikistan to Afghanistan and Iran, IRNA reported on Monday.

During the meeting with IDB President Ahmad Mohamed Ali in the sidelines of the 38th Annual Meeting of the IDB Board of Governors held in Tajik capital Dushanbe, Hosseini said that the three neighboring countries aim the IDB's participation at the joint hydropower project.

Iran, as the main shareholder of the IDB, expects larger participation of the bank in its projects, Hosseini added.

The minister also reminded that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pays special attention to the bank's participation in the construction of railway line among Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran.

IDB President Mohamed Ali, in turn, appreciated the good cooperation of Iran and the IDB and expressed satisfaction with the Iranian president's interest in the bank.

President Ahmadinejad pays special attention to the mutual cooperation between Iran and the IDB and this cooperation will be expanded, the IDB president mentioned.

He went on to say the IDB is pleased with that Iran pays special attention to the Central Asian countries, Mohamed Ali underlined.

The 38th Annual Meeting of the IDB Board of Governors is being held on May 21-22 and attended by 56 IDB member countries.

The IDB was founded in 1973 at the first session of the Organization of Islamic Conference member states in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and started its work in 1975.

The bank's capital was formed by the contributions of the founder countries of the bank, in particular Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Libya, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan.

Being one of the five Central Asian countries, Tajikistan needs to establish an efficient national energy system capable to supply energy for all sectors of the economy as the development of the national economy depends on the energy supply.

Tajikistan has limited hydrocarbon reserves. However, coal reserves in the country surpass those of oil and gas.

Tajikistan accounts for 10 percent of hydropower resources of the Commonwealth of Independent States countries and more than 50 percent of the hydropower potential of Central Asia. This is a good precondition to make the country an energy exporter to the neighboring countries. To date, there are 305 small hydropower plants operating in the country.

Iran, the first nation to establish an embassy in Dushanbe after Tajikistan's gaining independence in 1991, is the second biggest investor in the Central Asian state after China. The trade turnover between Iran and Tajikistan exceeded $500 million during the past Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 19, 2012.

Iranian companies are currently involved in several development projects in Tajikistan, including the construction of a dam, a hydroelectric power plant and a tunnel.

Iran and Tajikistan recently accelerated expansion of their ties and cooperation. Observers believe that the good achievements gained in the area of their cooperation should be deemed as a result of the efforts made by the two countries' officials.