OSCE builds capacity of public and private sector in Tajikistan’s Rasht Valley

The OSCE Office in Tajikistan held an interactive capacity-building exercise for the country’s state authorities and private sector representatives from 21 to 24 July 2013 on the outskirts of Dushanbe.

The event had the goal to prepare the first meeting of the Rasht Valley Consultative Council, a body that has the goal to serve as platform for a public-private dialogue on socio-economic issues in the Valley and a planning and policy development tool for state institutions, local business and civil society there. The Rasht Valley is located in central Tajikistan and was the scene of armed clashes in 2010 and 2011. It is expected that the Council, which is to convene by the end of the year, will also function as a valuable confidence-building mechanism in the region.

“By introducing international good practices, risks and opportunities of a public-private dialogue, and by allowing an unconstrained and open environment for participants to talk about their future visions for the Council, we have taken a first step in bridging the differences and misperceptions between the public and private sectors in the Rasht Valley”, said George Sand, the OSCE Office’s Economic Officer. “We expect that this regional dialogue process will increasingly be incorporated into the National Consultative Council on Improvement of the Investment Climate.”