DUSHANBE, January 30, Asia-Plus  -- In 2007, Tajikistan’s foreign debt estimated at $1.1199 billion, or 30 percent of the country’s GDP, which amounted to $3.7089 billion last year, Temourali Afghonov, the head of the department for state debt and financial assets of the Ministry of Finance(MoF), said in an interview with Asia-Plus.   

The MoF official attributes the country’s debt increase to newly attracted loans.  According to him, long-term loans from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, Kuwaiti and Saudi Development Funds, and China’s Exim (Export/Import) Bank form the bulk of Tajikistan''s debt

The total debt also includes loans from other countries, mostly from Uzbekistan ($63.6 million), the United States (15.3 million) and Russia ($15 million).    

“Negotiations conducted between the governments of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in 2007 resulted in signing of an agreement on terms of the secondary debt restructuring,” Afghonov said.   

Afghonov noted that Tajikistan last year paid off its debt of $2.2 million to Kyrgyzstan.