Wednesday, July 25, 2012 -
Tajikistan has secured $40 million in financing to purchase gasoline and diesel imports, signing an agreement with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) on Wednesday.
The ITFC is a member of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group. The signing took place at IDB headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
“Tajikistan faces energy shortages, due to its geographic location mainly; with this agreement, oil imports will be facilitated to the country, to help meet its needs,” ITFC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Waleed Al-Wohaib said.
The financing will also help Tajikistan develop its cotton, wheat, and aluminum industries, Tajik Deputy Prime Minister Murodali Alimardon said.
Tajikistan is not able to produce its own oil and gas, and relies heavily on Russia for petroleum imports. Earlier this year, Russia steeply increased export duties on petroleum products exported to Tajikistan, imposing a further economic crunch on Central Asia’s poorest country.
The spike in export duties resulted in a greater amount of petroleum being illegally transported from Kyrgyzstan – to which Russia did not charge export duties – over to Tajikistan.
Tajikistan has also begun to import hydrocarbons from gas-rich Turkmenistan.