Over the past four years, the poverty rate has declined rapidly in Tajikistan – from 31% in 2019 to 22.5% in 2022, Tajik Minister of Economic Development and Trade Zavqi Zavqizoda stated this on July 17 at the High-Level Political Forum 2023 (HLPF 2023) in New York, according to press center of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MoEDT).

Tajik minister, in particular, noted that population’s incomes have increased 2.1 times over the past five years, and average annual economic growth over the same five-year period has reportedly been provided at the level of 7.3 percent.  

Zavqizoda noted that those achievements had been reached due to economic reforms as well as implementation of national development programs and anti-crisis plans. 

According to him, access to safe drinking water, electricity, health care and education has also improved in Dushanbe.

“As a result, the poverty level has declined from 31 percent in 2015 to 22.5 percent in 2022,” the minister said. 

Convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council, the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) has been holding in New York from July 10.  This includes the three-day ministerial segment of the forum from July 17 to July 19 as part of the High-level Segment of the Council.  The last day of the High-level Segment of ECOSOC will be on Thursday, 20 July 2023.

The theme is “Accelerating the recovery from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels”. 

The forum participants have been able to further discuss the effective and inclusive recovery measures to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and explore actionable policy guidance for the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs at all levels.

Following 39 presenters have carried out voluntary national reviews (VNRs) of their implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the forum: Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Central African Republic, Comoros, Chile, Croatia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, European Union, Fiji, France, Guyana, Iceland, Ireland, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Mongolia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovakia, St Kitts & Nevis, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia.