The next message of the Founder of Peace and National Unity - Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan H.E. Emomali Rahmon, delivered on December 21 of this year, was an anniversary message: this is the tenth time that the President's annual address to the Majlisi Oli and the people has been delivered. This in itself testifies to the fact that our national state system is becoming better and more in line with international standards of transparency and accountability of governments, and its democratic foundations and social essence are being strengthened. The content of the Address is also gaining momentum from year to year as an effective means of dialogue with the people and an important political and social document in determining the main directions of the country's development and ways to address existing problems.
As always, this year's Address also pays special attention to the issue of foreign relations and international cooperation of the country, which is a representative of the consistent and tireless policy of the Republic of Tajikistan to ensure peace and stability not only within the country but throughout the region and the globe. This issue is of particular importance in today's context, where the political and social situation around the world has become more complicated due to the negative consequences of the pandemic, on the one hand, and various conflicts in different parts of the world, on the other.
In this context, it should be noted that today the Republic of Tajikistan is not only a simple participant in the processes of globalization and international relations in recent years, but has become a truly full and proactive participant in these processes and, moreover, one of the initiators and active actors in determining ways of development and solving problems the entire Central Asian region. Today Dushanbe has become a center for international meetings, solving urgent problems of the region and practical initiatives to establish peace, stability and sustainable development. This testifies to the political maturity of the country's leadership and the system of our national statehood, which is commendable and one of the greatest achievements of the period of state independence of Tajikistan. In particular, the policy of "open doors" and on this basis the creation of a free and favorable environment for multifaceted relations with all countries of the world is one of the valuable and noteworthy achievements of the country's political leadership.
According to the Leader of the Nation, ”the real essence of “Open doors” principle we apply in our foreign policy is to establish and maintain friendly relations, good neighborliness, mutually beneficial partnership and cooperation with other countries, international and regional organizations, as well as international financial institutions.
In this regard, It is worth mentioning that Tajikistan has established diplomatic relations with 180 countries around the globe. It is a fully and proactive member of the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Collective Security Treaty Organization, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other reputable global and regional institutions” .
It is quite logical that the Republic of Tajikistan remains loyal in its policy towards strategic partners and sustainable development. “In our foreign policy we always pay an utmost attention to development of strong ties with countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, with our strategic partners – Russian Federation, China and other partners such as the European Union, United States of America, countries of Asia, Middle East and the countries of other regions of the globe.”, - stressed the President of the country.
As a result of this policy, in particular, in recent years, the number of countries and foreign investors as well as the volume of their investmentshas increased, which ultimately helped to improve the well-being of the people and solve more of the country's social problems. “Over the past twenty years, we have mobilized more than TJS 150 billion of foreign investment, including TJS 59 billion of foreign direct investment. We have managed to mobilize more than TJS 35 billion of foreign direct investment for development of industry only. Throughout the independence, the State and the Government have paid a particular attention to the development of entrepreneurship and investment, and the entrepreneurs and investors are currently enjoy more than 110 incentives and tax and customs reliefs. The number of state business registration authorities has been reduced from 4 to 1, the registration time shortened from 49 to 3-5 days, and it is provided free of charge. We have revised the Tax Code of Tajikistan, which well become effective on 1 January 2022. With a view to ensuring intensive industrialization of the country, developing the entrepreneurship and investment and thereby creating the new jobs, for the first time in the history of our independence, we not only caped the previously introduced incentives and preferences but also introduced many additional reliefs into the revised code disregard of their negative impact on the fiscal revenue. Furthermore, we reduced the number of taxes from 10 to 7 and minimized the rates of several of them,”- emphasized in the Address.
As the Leader of the Nation noted, “the supreme goal of the State and the Government of the country is to improve the living standards of wellbeing of our honorable people. To this end we adopted and implemented 3 poverty reductions documents, 2 public welfare improvement programs and a long-term development strategy over the recent twentyy years. Currently the National Development Strategy to 2030 and 176 public programs are under implementation. We channeled, TJS 174 billion from all sources of funding for the implementation of these strategies and programs over the recent 20 years.”
In conclusion, it should be noted that the next Message of the President of the country as a source of inspiration and an important fundamental document, warmly received by the citizens of the country, is also seen as a good omen for the whole world from the Government of Tajikistan in establishing lasting peace, stability and sustainable development, especially in Central Asia.
Shamsiddin Karimov,
Chief Researcher, Department of Europe and America
