Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 5 April 2012 -- His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, paid a brief visit to Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe, on 4 April 2012 to discuss a range of national and regional development issues with the country’s top officials.

The Aga Khan met with Tajikistan’s president, His Excellency Emomali Rahmon, who recently hosted an international development conference on Afghanistan. They discussed AKDN’s current and future projects in Tajikistan as well as regional opportunities and challenges for development, including collaboration on cross-border development projects with neighbouring Afghanistan. The Aga Khan reaffirmed AKDN’s commitment to cross border development initiatives. The talks also covered a host of Tajikistan-specific issues, including food security, natural disaster preparedness and response, water and common resource pool management, the flight of human capital, and indigenous capacity development.

AKDN has been operating in Tajikistan since 1992. It now works in all regions of the country. Major projects include the construction of the University of Central Asia (campuses are being built in Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan), health and nutrition projects, country-wide microfinance programmes, the Pamir One hydroelectric plant (which also exports electricity to northern Afghanistan), and a number of micro-hydroelectric plants, as well as investments in the telecommunications and the tourism industry. Other AKDN projects include support for food security, rural development and local governance, the construction of five cross-border bridges to stimulate regional trade and spur economic development as well as vocational education and training. For more information on AKDN activities in Tajikistan, please see: http://www.akdn.org/tajikistan_publications.asp.

While in Dushanbe, the Aga Khan also visited the city’s Ismaili Centre and met with the newly-appointed leaders of the institutions of the Ismaili Community.

For further information please contact:

Ms. Sitora Shokamolova
Communications Officer
Aga Khan Development Network
8-10 Gani Abdullo Street
734003 Dushanbe, Tajikistan
Tel.+ 992) 93 576 4222
Fax: +(992) 372510066
Website: www.akdn.org

NOTE

His Highness the Aga Khan is founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The AKDN works in over 30 countries to improve living conditions and opportunities, and to help relieve society of the burdens of ignorance, disease, and deprivation. AKDN agencies are non-denominational and conduct programs without regard to the faith, origin or gender of beneficiaries. They work to improve the welfare and prospects of people in the developing world, particularly in Asia and Africa. Some programmes, such as specific research, education and cultural programmes, span both the developed and developing worlds.