Tajikistan president calls on EU for 'more support'

The president of Tajikistan has appealed to the EU to help his debt-ridden country survive the global financial meltdown.

Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Emomali Rahmon said the credit crunch necessitated a "rapid response" to his country’s economic woes.

The EU has committed some €750m to help the economies of central Asian countries, including Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic which was plunged into civil war as soon as it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Rahmon, on his first-ever visit to Brussels, told MEPs that while he was "very grateful" to the EU for its financial aid, this still fell short of what was needed to help revive its ruined economy.

"Our relations with the EU are progressing well and, indeed, have reached a new level," said Rahmon, now in his third term as president. He pointed out that foreign trade investment in his country had increased three-fold in recent years and the country was making strides in various areas, particularly education.

"But I would like the European parliament to render more support to improving these relations further still," he insisted.

In his address, the president said he hoped the EU would take into account the efforts being made to combat drug trafficking, particularly on its huge border with Afghanistan.

His comments were partly echoed by Lithuanian ALDE member Ona Jukneviciene, who chairs parliament’s delegation to the central Asian republics.

She said it was "regrettable" that one member state, Greece, was yet to ratify the partnership and cooperation agreement between the EU and Tajikistan.

She added, "This is significant because it means we are not yet able to utilise the full capacity of this very useful instrument.

"The fact that this agreement, which was signed back in 2004, is still to ratified, is something parliament should address."

Polish centre right deputy Jacek Saryusz-Wolski told the meeting that the EU had a "direct and indirect" interest in maintaining the security and stability of central Asian countries like Tajikistan.

Rahmon, who was addressing a special meeting of the foreign affairs committee and the delegation to the central Asian republics, is on a state visit to Belgium.

Accompanied by a large entourage, he has also held meetings with EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana and commission president José Manuel Barroso.

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