7 May

At the Estonian-Tajik economic forum, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said that Estonia could be a good export gateway to Europe for Tajikistan, as well as a distribution centre for goods for the global market. The prime pinister invited Tajikistan to invest in logistics in Estonia. “In addition to developing political relations, we are also interested in deepening our economic ties,” said Ansip, adding that Estonia provides suitable investment options in logistics. For example, Tajikistan could place a logistics centre in Estonia to service Tajikistani businesses or build its own terminal in one of the ports. “A liberal business environment, a politically stable European Union member state and the existence of an infrastructure suitable for investments should guarantee favourable conditions for investment,” said Ansip.

Tajikistan’s main export articles are cotton and aluminium, which together account for just over half of Tajikistan’s total exports. Also increasing is the export of dried fruit.

Currently, Tajikistan ranks 105th among Estonia’s trading partners, with a total trade volume of just 683,000 euros, all of it accounted for by export. In 2011, the trade volume was even more modest – 219,000 euros, which placed Tajikistan 123rd among Estonia’s trading partners.

Taking into account the increasing domestic demand in Tajikistan, there is potential for developing economic ties in several areas. Transport aside, other possible areas of cooperation between Estonia and Tajikistan include tourism, IT and electronic surveillance equipment.

To invigorate the modest economic relations, the prime minister is accompanied by 15 business delegates, who also attended the business forum. On the Tajik side, the representatives of 50 companies, including large industrial enterprises, furniture producers, logistics and transport companies, communications companies, etc., attended the forum.

During the visit, the business delegation had meetings in the Tajikistani ministries of economy and transport, the Association of Logistics and the Agency for Construction and Architecture.

With a conservative budget policy, the Tajikistani economy has grown substantially in recent years – the growth in 2012 and 2011 was 7.5%. In March 2013, Tajikistan officially became a member of the WTO, which provides it with a good platform for developing long‐term economic relations with both Estonia and the European Union.