Countries and Regions

	Table of Contents
p. 7 of 20 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment II. Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies IV. Regional Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program VIII. Economic and Sector Work Program IX. Local Cost Financing

Country Assistance Plans - Tajikistan

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II. Interim Operational Strategy (IOS)

A. The IOS

26. The ADB's Interim Operational Strategy (IOS) for Tajikistan was endorsed by the Board of Directors in October 1998, one year before ADB adopted its new Poverty Reduction Strategy. As a result, the current IOS does not have an explicit poverty focus. The current IOS will be replaced by a full Country Strategy and Program (CSP) to be initiated in 2001, which will reflect the priorities identified in the Poverty Reduction Strategy and in a Poverty Partnership Agreement to be signed by ADB and the Government in 2001.

27. The IOS has the following objectives: (i) facilitate the country's transition to a market economy, (ii) assist in the postconflict rehabilitation and reconstruction, and (iii) provide support for natural disaster rehabilitation. To maximize the development impact of ADB's assistance, and taking into account ADB's experience in other Central Asian Republics, its available resources, the activities of other donors, and the Government's priorities, the IOS focuses on three priority areas: (i) agriculture and agroprocessing; (ii) infrastructure rehabilitation, especially road and power; and (iii) education. Since the IOS was prepared, ADB undertook a detailed social sector review⁸ and support in this third area has been broadened to include health and social protection. With regard to the Government's request to include a water sector in the area of infrastructure rehabilitation, the role of ADB in the sector will be reviewed when a COS replaces the IOS.

B. Progress in Implementation

28. Because of Tajikistan's high poverty rate and still-fragile economic and political situation, ADB has sought to maintain operations that are timely, flexible, and properly targeted in order to best respond to the country's needs. ADB has also forged a strong partnership with the Government, and has collaborated closely with other international donors working in Tajikistan.

29. The Postconflict Infrastructure Program (1998), ADB's first intervention, addresses key policy, legal, and institutional issues in the road and power sectors. The Social Sector Rehabilitation Project approved in 1999 is designed to cover a wide range of social sector issues and reforms, and is being pursued in close coordination with the UN and WB, which are also active in the sector. With the request from the Government, ADB provided the Flood Emergency Rehabilitation Project in 1999, also in coordination with WB. The program for 2000 includes project loans to meet the urgent rehabilitation needs in the road and power sectors.

30. The strategic development objectives of governance improvement, human development, improvement in the status of women, and protection of the environment are being explicitly addressed as part of ADB assistance in each of the priority sectors. Human resources are being strengthened by developing training programs and skills that fulfill the needs of a market economy. In view of the steep rise in the number of households headed by women living in poverty, ADB's efforts for improving the status of women concentrate on mitigating the poverty problems of these households. Given its limited resources, ADB confines its environment-oriented interventions to flood rehabilitation, the agriculture sector, and capacity building for environmental management.

C. Poverty Partnership Agreement

31. With Tajikistan's high incidence of poverty and the Government's limited resources, there is an urgent need to establish an effective national poverty reduction strategy. The Government has already demonstrated its commitment to poverty reduction through its policy of maintaining social expenditures at 22 percent of the Government budget, by launching the drafting of a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) with the World Bank and IMF in March 2000, and by holding a seminar to discuss the results of the World Bank's poverty assessment study. A special Working Group was created in March 2000 to begin work on a national poverty reduction strategy. It has completed an interim PRSP, which was submitted in July 2000 to satisfy IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) conditions.

32. ADB initiated the implementation of its Poverty Reduction Strategy for Tajikistan in April 2000, actively coordinating with the World Bank, IMF, and UNDP in order to enhance collaboration, avoid duplication of efforts, and coordinate poverty-reduction interventions. Based on the Government's request and on discussions with major stakeholders, ADB will assist the Government's Working Group in drafting the national poverty reduction strategy, and will assist the State Statistical Agency to develop a system to monitor poverty. These would provide inputs into the Poverty Partnership Agreement, which ADB plans to prepare by June 2001.

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