DUSHANBE, June 17, 2014, Asia-Plus -- Nazir Sharipov, entrepreneur and social activist, was elected Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia (EFCA), a regional organization also active in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and managing a budget up to $ 10 million per year.

According to EFCA, Sharipov was unanimously elected at the annual Board of Trustees meeting, held in Dushanbe on June 12.  Succeeding Erkinbek Kasybekov from Kyrgyzstan, Sharipov is the first Tajik holding the highest position of the organization.

The Network Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia, combining three separate funds, is active in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.  In 2013, the operating budget of the fund was $ 5 million. The core activities of the organization aim to improve lives of Tajik citizens, provide access to justice, develop entrepreneurship and enhance accountability of local authorities.

Each unit of the organization is independent in decision-making, project management and registered under the laws of the particular countries.  EFCA’s Board of Trustees oversees the activities and strategic decisions of its chapters.

Eurasian Foundation of Central Asia is the successor of the Eurasia Foundation, registered in the United States and being active in Central Asia since 2005.  From 1992 to 2005, Eurasia Foundation has invested more than $ 40 million in the region through various projects.

Nazir Sharipov was born in Tajikistan on November 30, 1972.  In 1995 he graduated from Khujand State University, Faculty of Tajik-Persian literature and journalism.  In 1998 he entered the Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Faculty of International Economic Relations, where he attended diplomatic courses in the Netherlands, Belgium and Austria.  He is currently a student at the Mining and Metallurgical Institute of Tajikistan.

From 1996 to 2007 Sharipov worked in various positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan.  Among those, Sharipov was chargé d’affaires at the Tajik Embassy to the United States in Washington and headed various diplomatic service agencies.  Since January 2008, Sharipov heads the office of Tethys Tajikistan Limited and is also the director of Kulob Petroleum Limited.  In August 2010 Sharipov became the president of Tethys Tajikistan Limited.

Sharipov is an honorary citizen of Nebraska, USA and currently the Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Tajikistan and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the disabled children’s home in Dushanbe.  Sharipov is a member of EFCA’s Board of Trustees since 2011, and now heading its multinational council.  Since 2014, Sharipov also chairs the board of founders of the Tajik chapter of Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia.