DUSHANBE, April 21, Asia-Plus  -- A delegation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) arrived in Dushanbe today.

According to presidential press service, the EBRD delegation will hold talks with President Emomali Rahmon today.  

According to the EBRD Dushanbe Office, further meetings of representatives of the shareholders of the Bank in Tajikistan will provide them with the opportunity to discuss recent developments in Tajikistan with government representatives, members of the diplomatic and business communities and representatives of civil society.  They will also have the opportunity to visit EBRD projects.

Representatives of the Board in the delegation to Tajikistan are Ole Hovland, representing Norway, Finland and Latvia; Hiroyuki Kubota, representing Japan; Gonzalo Ramos, representing Spain and Mexico; Simon Ray, representing the United Kingdom; Rainald Roesch, representing Germany; and Irena Sodin, representing Slovenia, Belgium and Luxemburg.

After Tajikistan, the EBRD delegation will also visit Turkmenistan. 

Country visits are an important opportunity for firsthand accounts of developments in the EBRD’s 29 countries of operations and are regularly conducted by the Board Directors.  

Central Asia is a region to which the EBRD attaches great importance. Since the adoption of its new strategy in May 2006 in the context of its regular Capital Resources Review, the Bank’s activities in the region have increased significantly. EBRD projects cover many sectors from power and energy to microfinance and agribusiness to infrastructure