DELEGATION TO THE EU-KAZAKHSTAN, EU-KYRGYZSTAN AND EU-UZBEKISTAN PARLIAMENTARY COOPERATION COMMITTEES AND FOR RELATIONS WITH TAJIKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN AND MONGOLIA 3rd Interparliamentary Meeting European Parliament / Majilis Oli of the Republic of Tajikistan 24-25 October 2007 Strasbourg SUMMARY REPORT 1. Opening of the meeting The meeting began at 15.00hrs Mrs JUKNEVIČIENĖ opened the meeting and welcomed the delegation from Tajikistan. She noted that the meeting came at a significant time for EU-Tajikistan relations with the adoption of the EU's Central Asia Strategy last June by the European Council and the launching of the Development Cooperation Initiative. She noted as well that the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with Tajikistan was in the process of being ratified and that in the meantime an Interim Agreement on trade had come into force in May 2005. She welcomed the plans to open a European Commission Delegation office in Dushanbe in 2008. Finally she highlighted the European Parliament resolution on EU relations with Central Asia which was being prepared by Cem ÖZDEMIR and that was likely to be adopted early in 2008. Mr MAKHMUDOV stated that the EU was a very important partner for Tajikistan with over 50 joint ventures. It was also important that the PCA should be ratified - so far 15 member states had ratified it. There had already been four meetings within the framework of the Trade Agreement and the most recent meeting had taken place in Dushanbe in 2006. TACIS had provided very valuable assistance to Tajikistan but there was a need for further financial and technical assistance. An expansion of the Tempus programme was also desirable. It was important as well to develop more air links with the EU as at present the only direct flight to Dushanbe was via Munich. Links with the European Parliament were also a key element in the development of EU-Tajikistan relations. Mr MAKHMUDOV gave details of Tajikistan's relations with Afghanistan with which it shared a 1260 kilometre border. He stressed that his country had huge resources of oil and uranium as well CR\697512EN.DOC PE 397.096 EN EN 1 as its production of cotton, tobacco, grain and dairy products. He stated too that there was a high degree of stability in with full respect for human rights. He stressed that Tajikistan wanted to improve its internal transport as it was a very mountainous country with 93% of its area made up of highlands. It also sought to develop its energy potential. Tourism was another key area for development and lessons could be learned from other countries. Membership of the WTO had also been a key element in the development of Tajikistan. 2. EU-Tajikistan relations, including EU aid and the ratification of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement Mrs JUKNEVIČIENĖ thanked her Co-Chair and gave the floor to Mr Reinhold HACK of the European Commission. Mr HACK referred to the new phase of the EU's approach to Central Asia following the adoption of its strategy in June 2007. A key instrument of this approach was the PCA, which the Commission was urging the remaining 12 member states to ratify. After giving details of the main themes of the Strategy he went on to outline the EU's Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI), which was replacing TACIS and would run from 2007 to 2013 and provide funding amounting to EUR750 million. He stressed that 80% of this budget would be provided through bilateral assistance. Projects in the pipeline included continuing budget support for agricultural reform, poverty alleviation, technical assistance and identification of programmes in the health sector. The "show piece" programme was BOMCA - the EU's border management programme in Central Asia that assisted the states in developing their border management capacities. Other programmes included support to education through Tempus and Erasmus Mundi and the E-Silk highway. Mr HACK noted the support of the Commission for Tajikistan's membership of the WTO, while stressing the serious work that needed to be done in this field. He emphasised that EU-Tajikistan trade relations were extremely limited, although the General System of Preference (GSP), which applied to 90% of Tajikistan's goods, could help the situation. Mr MAKHMUDOV stressed again his government's desire to improve its level of trade with the EU. In particular he referred to the desire to promote educational links as Tajikistan had the highest birth rate in Central Asia at 6.3% per annum and had a population of three million young people. Mr SALIMOV stressed that links between schools were very important and he underlined the significance of the Tempus programme. He emphasised that the E-Silk Road and developing internet links were a vital development. Mr HACK noted that in the next three years bilateral assistance to Tajikistan would total EUR 66 million and that there would be additional funds from the regional budget. He stressed that E-Silk cooperation would be discussed at the EU-Tajikistan Joint Committee taking place in December 2007. A Commission delegation would be opened in Dushanbe in 2008 as part of a programme to open delegations in all Central Asian countries. Mrs JUKNEVIČIENĖ stressed that ratification of the PCA was very important and she welcomed the fact that the DCI should allow more substantial assistance to Central Asia from the EU. 3. Economic and social situation, drug trafficking and organised crime Mrs JUKNEVIČIENĖ then asked the Tajiks about the support that their country received from third countries. Mr MAKHMUDOV stated that Tajikistan enjoyed good relations with third CR\697512EN.DOC PE 397.096 EN EN 2 countries, including their neighbours in the CIS. It could rely on a stable political base as it had eight political parties, 372 NGOs and 140 voluntary organisations. It was working in particular to tackle drug trafficking and there had been an increase in the amount of drugs seized. In addition there had been a reduction in drugs related crimes. An agency had been set up to tackle corruption which had enjoyed good results so far. Mr CALLANAN asked about relations with neighbouring countries and especially Uzbekistan. He noted that there had been no condemnation by President RAHMON of the killings in Andijan in May 2005. Mr MAKHMUDOV stated that Uzbekistan was a neighbour and that there were over a million ethnic Uzbeks living in Tajikistan as well as two million ethnic Tajiks living in Uzbekistan. It was irrelevant to condemn Uzbekistan over the events in Andijan and international organisations had differing views on what had happened. It was important for Dushanbe to have good relations with its neighbours and President RAHMON wanted to expand economic cooperation with Uzbekistan. Mrs JUKNEVIČIENĖ asked about Tajikistan's cooperation with Kazakhstan and other countries such as Russia and Afghanistan, to combat drug smuggling. She also noted reports that one million Tajiks were working in Russia. Mr MAKHMUDOV was not aware of the figure of Tajiks working in Russia but stated that labour migration was a normal phenomenon. A parliamentary group from Tajikistan had gone to Moscow to meet with Mayor LUZHKOV and had reached an agreement on labour migration and medical insurance of migrant workers. His government was seeking to stabilise the situation and ameliorate the problems. Tajik migrants lacked the foreign language skills to work in EU member states. He underlined that Tajikistan was a democratic state based on the principles of social equality and ethnic and religious harmony. He welcomed the comments from the European Commission and looked forward to far more Tajik students having the opportunity to study in EU universities. Mrs JUKNEVIČIENĖ agreed that economic migration was not necessarily a negative thing and that half a million Lithuanians, out of a population of three and a half million, had left the country in recent years. It was nevertheless important to ensure that the process was properly managed. Mrs SAKS asked about Tajikistan's cooperation with Russia, including cooperation on an aluminium plant. Mr MAKHMUDOV stated that Tajikistan had cancelled a contract with the Russian aluminium company RusAL, under which the Russians had been committed to finish the Rogun dam and modernising the Tajik Aluminium Plant. This step had been taken because RusAL had not honoured its commitments. In other areas however, such as education and tackling drugs trafficking, there was good cooperation with Russia. Mr MAKHMUDOV underlined Tajikistan's wish to cooperate with the EU on tackling drug trafficking but stressed that part of the problem lay in the fact that there was a demand for drugs from EU citizens. Mrs SAKS, noting that Mr MAKHMUDOV was a Professor of Law, asked about the rule of law in Tajikistan and the legal system. She was informed that Tajikistan drew mainly from the Russian system of law but there were also elements of the European legal system, the Koran and Tajik legal standards. Tajikistan had signed more than a dozen international conventions on human rights and there were proposals for the creation of the position of Ombudsman. President RAHMON was CR\697512EN.DOC PE 397.096 EN EN 3 conscious of Tajik legal traditions and had sought to incorporate these into the system. Mr MAKHMUDOV noted that the government was seeking to limit the number of guests at weddings and other ceremonies such as circumcisions, as the social pressure on people to invite excessive numbers had caused serious financial hardship. Mrs SAKS pressed the Co-Chair on the issue of limiting numbers at social events, saying that such an approach represented state involvement in the private lives of people. She also raised the issue of reported restrictions on the use of mobile phones.