Tajikistan

The recently convened High-level Plenary Meeting at the level of heads of State or Government can rightly be referred to as the major historical event of the beginning of the new millennium. It is important that, at the summit, the international community not only reiterated previously undertaken commitments but also took new, concrete decisions for their practical implementation. Most importantly, world leaders clearly stated that there is no alternative to the United Nations as an international Organization that can coordinate efforts to address the challenges faced by humankind. Through the common political will of world leaders, a unique opportunity has arisen to strengthen joint efforts towards peaceful and sustainable social 23 and economic development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); to progress towards the eradication of poverty and disease; to overcome humanitarian crises; and to provide a better world for present and future generations. Further progress requires united, concerted and consistent action on the part of the international community as a whole. There is no doubt that the United Nations must play a key role in mobilizing and coordinating such efforts. We share the view that it is necessary to strengthen the Organization and its specialized agencies, including through the urgent reform of the Secretariat and of other United Nations bodies. Tajikistan welcomes the outcome of the September summit and is prepared to meet all the commitments and implement all the decisions outlined in its outcome document. We view them as a pledge by the international community to devote the necessary attention to human development challenges and, to that end, to channel additional financial resources to countries in extreme need, such as Tajikistan. The Millennium Development Goals must remain the focus of our efforts. There is no doubt that, at the national level, the pace of, and priorities in, the implementation of the MDGs must be adapted to the conditions prevailing in particular countries, each of which has its own way of doing things and its own particular characteristics. Tajikistan aims to achieve maximum progress in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. Despite the difficulties we face, we have made real progress towards attaining them. According to the World Bank, noticeable positive changes have occurred in the area of poverty reduction: in recent years the number of people living below the poverty line has decreased by 16 per cent. It is clear that progress has been made in ensuring food security, which is among the key priorities in Tajikistan. The Government’s objectives include the development of agriculture and the creation within it of a viable private sector, and, at a minimum, a threefold increase in the income of rural households. We fully agree with the conclusions reached in the Millennium Development Goals Needs Assessment report submitted to the Secretary-General by a team of experts led by Jeffrey Sachs, which state that Tajikistan has a unique opportunity to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, in the context of their major parameters, by 2015. Successful achievement of the envisaged targets will allow Tajikistan to become, in Central Asia, an example of an emerging democracy characterized by equality and prosperity. Tajikistan is currently at a turning point in its development. The armed conflict was resolved within a short period of time, and the complex peacebuilding phase, which is being successfully implemented with United Nations support, is approaching its conclusion. Over the last five years, with the involvement of the United Nations Office in Tajikistan, the country has successfully travelled the difficult road of national reconciliation, enhancing its stability, establishing democratic institutions, promoting the rule of law and ensuring respect for human rights. Stability and the implementation of first- generation reforms have brought about a speedy increase in gross domestic product, with an annual increase of 9.3 per cent over the past five years. The rehabilitation of the country's economy is progressing. At the same time, the Republic's authorities have a clear idea of the scale and complexity of the problems facing the country and are fully aware of their responsibilities in addressing social and economic problems, and they are undertaking every possible measure for their resolution. Tajikistan is one the first countries in the world to have generated, with the assistance of the United Nations, an estimate of the overall costs and resources required for the implementation of the MDGs. The Millennium Development Goals Needs Assessment identified the fundamental structural and institutional reforms needed in Tajikistan to create an enabling environment for achieving the MDGs; policy priorities in respective sectors; and financial schemes for funding the development of rural areas, the educational and health systems, the water supply and sanitation infrastructures, and the environment. According to The Millennium Development Goals Needs Assessment, Tajikistan will need about $13 billion over the next 10 years to achieve the required progress in the implementation of the MDGs. However, the Millennium Development Goals Needs Assessment is only the first concrete measure. Based on that document, a National Strategy for Development for 2006-2008 and a more detailed 24 Strategy for Poverty Reduction for 2006-2008 are currently being elaborated in Tajikistan. These measures, undertaken by the Government of Tajikistan, fully accord with the decisions of the summit on the elaboration of national strategies for development. Tajikistan's social and economic development will depend largely on the international community's approach to addressing existing challenges, including poverty eradication; development financing; the creation of an equitable system of world trade; the alleviation of the consequences of natural disasters; and the resolution of demographic problems. That is why the summit's decisions on such a crucial issue as development financing are of pivotal importance for Tajikistan. Allow me briefly to touch on some key issues. I turn first to needs related to official assistance for development. In cooperation with United Nations experts, we assessed our needs in this area in a detailed and transparent manner. Currently, our financial requirements for sustainable development considerably exceed the available federal and external resources. Of the $930 million that international donors have committed to allocate to Tajikistan during the period 2003-2005, only 40 per cent has actually been provided. We call on the international community to double, at a minimum, existing aid for the implementation of the MDGs. Reducing the burden of foreign debt is of special importance for us, since the funds released can be invested in development. Due to the efforts undertaken by the Government to reduce the burden of servicing foreign debt, some progress has been achieved in the restructuring of bilateral debts in recent years. However, in the near future, the debt burden will remain heavy. According to estimates, this year debt will equal more than 40 per cent of gross domestic product, and it will continue to pose a threat to the macro-economic stability of the country and to plans for development. The economy and trade in Tajikistan depend to a large extent on favourable conditions in the world market. Tajikistan hopes for the successful completion of the Doha round of trade negotiations within the World Trade Organization, in order that it may fully realize its potential in the field of development and so that progress can be made towards an open and equitable system of world trade. Lack of access to the sea and remoteness from world markets significantly increase transit transportation expenditures, make it harder for the country to participate in world trade and directly affect the poverty rate in the country. In that context, the promotion of regional cooperation, primarily with neighbouring countries, is a key factor for the achievement of the MDGs in Tajikistan. Our region faces specific problems, given that the establishment of an environment conducive to developing trade relations and the promotion of economic relations as a whole depends, in many respects, on the success of the stabilization and peacebuilding processes in neighbouring Afghanistan. With respect to the country's post-conflict rehabilitation, it is clear that, at the regional level, active involvement by the States of Central Asia neighbouring Afghanistan in its development will be key to the success of the efforts undertaken there. In this connection, Tajikistan believes that it is absolutely essential that Afghanistan share in the multifaceted process of regional cooperation. We expect our region's leading international partners to provide appropriate support for that process. Indeed, that issue could be considered by the new United Nations Peacebuilding Commission. Although we rely on international assistance, the Government of Tajikistan is making increased efforts to utilize the country's own capacity to the fullest extent. Tajikistan's water resources offer enormous advantages in terms of the implementation of the MDGs. Unfortunately, less than 5 per cent of their potential is currently being exploited. Rational and fair management of water resources will contribute directly to progress towards the MDGs by helping to address challenges related to, inter alia, food security, employment, sanitation, the reduction of disease and increased school attendance. Our common goal is to develop a qualitatively new pattern of sustainable water resource management and to address water economy challenges at the national, regional and international levels by bringing together international community support and national efforts, while ensuring that the countries themselves and even subregions facing water supply problems play the leading role. We expect all countries and all of the specialized agencies of the United Nations to take an active part in events relating to the International Decade for Action 25 "Water for Life", the success of which will depend on joint activities being undertaken. That should make a common, tangible contribution to the future of humankind. As a country that has lived through civil conflict, Tajikistan considers progress in the implementation of the MDGs to be of special significance. The successful social and economic development of the country is the key to preventing a recurrence of such conflict. Our experience teaches us that creating conditions that can prevent the resumption of conflict and strengthen the process of advancing social and economic development in countries that have lived through such conflict must be among the key goals of the international community. In this connection, we fully share the conviction that the United Nations must focus on overcoming and preventing conflict and on post- conflict rehabilitation and development. We hope that the new United Nations Peacebuilding Commission will expand the capacity of the international community to respond to the needs of post-conflict countries and allow a direct link to be made between security and development. The Economic and Social Council is called upon to play its role in that process. Tajikistan, which suffered in its struggle for independence, has resolutely set out on the democratic road towards development, and will not turn back. The international community, first and foremost the United Nations, has made an enormous contribution in that regard, and for many years we have benefited from its generous assistance and selfless support. We are convinced that the United Nations should remain the key body for regulating international relations in the new millennium. We are working on the assumption that the consolidating function of the United Nations should be enhanced. The reform of the Organization should be rational, and the renewed United Nations itself should be strong and capable of responding to world events in a swift and proper manner so that it can effectively counteract the many global challenges and threats of a new generation. Tajikistan will make its own contribution in that area with a view to strengthening the United Nations and enhancing its role in the modern world.