DUSHANBE, August 1, 2008, Asia-Plus  --  The next session of the Consultative Council for Improvement of Investment Climate in Tajikistan will be dedicated to the licensing issues.  Such a decision was made at the Council session that was held in Dushanbe on July 31. 

Participants of the meeting, presided over by President Emomali Rahmon, included representatives of the Tajik government, members of Tajikistan’s economic team, as well as representatives of international donors – the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and other financial institutions accredited in Tajikistan. 

According to presidential press service,  speaking at a July 31 session of the Council, Dr David Robson, President of Tethys Petroleum Tajikistan-Limited, noted that as foreign investor, he is satisfied  with the investment climate in Tajikistan. 

During the session, it was decided that each session of the Council will be dedicated to any certain subject area.  The session participants agreed that the next session will discuss issues related to improvement of the licensing procedure in Tajikistan.  

            The first session of the Consultative Council endorsed the Council’s structure, Council Secretariat’s charter as well as the Council numbers.  The Council now has nine full members: president; prime minister; chairman of the state committee for investments and state-owned property management; EBRD resident representative in Tajikistan; secretary of the Council; USAID director, etc.   Alternate members of the Council are elected from among local and foreign entrepreneurs working in Tajikistan, the press service said.

The Consultative Council was established last year and is dedicated to promote development of the private sector in the country.  The council members are senior representatives of government bodies, which are directly engaged in supporting development of the private sector and the president himself.