DUSHANBE, June 13, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- On Thursday June 13, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon received Mr. Xiaoyu Zhao, Vice-President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

According to the Tajik president’s official website, the sides discussed a broad range of issues related to state and prospect of further expansion of cooperation between Tajikistan and the Bank.

In the course of the talks, Tajik leader expressed gratitude to ADB for its decision to finance the work on designing the Tajik section of a rail link connecting Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.

The sides reportedly also discussed the process of preparations for implementation of regional energy projects.

Mr. Xiaoyu Zhao is the Vice-President (Operations 1) of ADB.  He joined ADB in September 2008.  Mr. Zhao is responsible for operations of the South Asia Department and the Central and West Asia Department.

Tajikistan joined ADB in 1998, and to date, the institution has approved total assistance of around $980 million in concessional loans, grants and technical assistance to the country. ADB’s operations benefit the population by reducing isolation, increasing communication, broadening access to electricity, improving social services, and creating more income-generating opportunities.