DUSHANBE, July 15, 2013, Asia-Plus -- Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov visited the Danghara Free Economic Zone (FEZ “Danghara”) in the southern province of Khatlon at the end of the last week.

According to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Oqil got acquainted with preparations for implementation of the project for establishment of two corporate residents in Danghara FEZ – Tajik-Belarusian joint venture for assembling tractors and Tajik-Chinese joint venture for refining petroleum.

The prime minister reportedly ordered to the Danghara FEZ Administration to allocate areas for those enterprises as soon as possible.

Oqilov also ordered relevant bodies to provide the Danghara FEZ with water, power and communications scheme.

In the early 2000s, foreign direct investment has remained low because of political and economic instability, the poor domestic financial system, and Tajikistan’s geographic isolation.  To attract foreign investment and technology, Tajikistan has offered to establish free economic zones in which firms receive advantages on taxes, fees, and customs. In 2004, the parliament passed a law on free economic zones.  The zones reportedly offer customs and tax incentives to qualified investors that invest at least 500,000 USD and import at least 90% of the technology and equipment.