DUSHANBE, 22.01.2018. /NIAT “Khovar”/. Central Asia has made significant progress on sustainable development in recent decades. It was said at the meeting of the UN Security Council by Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the UN News Center reported.

During this meeting, the UN Secretary-General noted that Central Asia has made significant progress on sustainable development in recent decades and cited the example of the Republic of Tajikistan as evidence of his words.

“In Tajikistan, for example, the poverty rate has been halved, from 81 percent in 2003 to 31 percent in 2015. But countries in this region can never achieve their full potential alone. All are landlocked, and many developed over decades as economically interdependent parts of a larger whole”, — stated Guterres.

He also added that “growth, increased employment opportunities and prosperity depend on accelerated economic cooperation and integration. The common geography and history of Central Asian countries and Afghanistan, and their strong cultural ties, create enormous potential for mutually beneficial joint projects, trade and exchange. During my visit to Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan last June, I was encouraged to see new bilateral and regional connections and better regional dynamics”.

It should be noted that the Founder of Peace and National Unity – Leader of the Nation, President of the Republic of Tajikistan His Excellency Mr. Emomali Rahmon on November 19, 2017, at his speech in honor of the 25th anniversary of the 16th session of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Tajikistan stressed that “the population’s incomes have grown almost 30 times, savings have increased more than 90 times, and the level of poverty decreased from 83% to 30%”.

“Thanks to the right choice of national goals and the implementation of strategies and state programs, the country’s economic growth has reached an average of 7.7% in the last 17 years. If in 1991 there were 358 industrial enterprises in total, their number is 2000 today. Raising the level and quality of life of the people is one of the important and strategic goals of the Government of Tajikistan today”, — said President Emomali Rahmon.