Dushanbe Investment Forum Prospers: Tajikistan Receives $4.1 Billion in Investment Commitments

This mountainous country, rich in water and mineral resources, is opening new pathways for sustainable development through green investment.

The "Dushanbe Investment-2025" International Investment Forum, held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan's capital, concluded from October 14th to 16th. In his closing remarks, Sulton Rahimzoda, Chairman of the State Committee for Investment and State Assets Management of Tajikistan, announced that 52 cooperation agreements totaling $4.1 billion were signed.

This figure underscores Tajikistan's attractiveness as an emerging investment destination in Central Asia. The forum's theme, "Green Investment: Creating Opportunities for a Sustainable Future," defines the direction of Tajikistan's economic development.

The three-day forum attracted over 1,500 representatives from governments and international organizations, leading businesses, financial institutions, and the business community from dozens of countries in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

01 Forum Background and Scale

The Dushanbe International Investment Forum has become a key platform in Central Asia for promoting green investment, sustainable development, and digital transformation. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon attended the conference and delivered an opening speech.

This forum featured a distinguished lineup of dignitaries and heads of international organizations, including Uzbek Prime Minister Abdullah Aripov, Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar, and UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molchenian.

Chairman Zhenwei of the China Overseas Development Association led nearly 20 entrepreneurs from 12 Chinese provinces in the forum. These companies spanned a wide range of sectors, including energy, environmental protection, electricity, and smart manufacturing.

The forum showcased the investment potential of various economic sectors in Tajikistan, provided relevant information to investors, established a platform for communication, and facilitated the signing of several cooperation agreements.

02 Key Cooperation Areas and Projects

Among the many cooperation agreements signed at the forum, solar power generation projects were a highlight. The Tajik Ministry of Energy and Water Resources announced the signing of agreements with Chinese, Russian, and domestic companies for solar power generation projects totaling 2 GW.

Major agreements included a 500-megawatt solar power plant to be built in Sughd Province by China's Wuhan Building Materials Industry, a 500-megawatt project in Sughd and Khatlon Provinces by Tajikistan's Ayon Energy, and a 500-megawatt power generation facility in Khatlon Province by China's Yijing Photovoltaic.

This agreement also included a planned investment in a 500-megawatt solar power project by Rosatom's Renewable Energy Company.

Significant cooperation also occurred in the industrial sector. During the forum, an agreement was signed to build a ceramic tile production plant, which will help Tajikistan reduce its annual ceramic tile imports by over $70 million.

There are also plans to build a metallurgical plant to produce rebar and other metal products, reducing dependence on imported metal products.

Digital transformation was also a key topic at the forum. Huawei held a "Huawei Middle East and Central Asia" event during the forum, focusing on cybersecurity threats, new data storage technologies, and data center construction trends.

Tajik Interior Minister Ramazon Rahimzoda met with Gan Jianhua, President of Huawei's Middle East and Central Asia region. The two sides plan to expand their cooperation on the second phase of the "Safe City" project, introducing systems such as facial recognition and license plate recognition.

03 Investment Environment and Policy Support

Tajikistan has been actively improving its investment environment in recent years. In 2025, the Tajik Parliament approved the "Law on Investment and Promotion of Investment Activities," which consolidated the existing "Investment Law" and "Investment Agreement Law," regulating investment relations and lowering entry barriers.

The government also adopted the "Strategy for Attracting Investment to 2040," identifying energy, industry, transportation, agriculture, tourism, finance, and IT as core investment areas.

Tax incentives are a key means of attracting foreign investment to Tajikistan. The government offers numerous incentives and tax breaks for investors, including a carbon tax, making Tajikistan even more attractive for investment.

Through ratification of agreements such as the Generalized System of Preferences Plus, Tajik products can be exported duty-free to Europe.

Regarding international cooperation, the upgraded Agreement between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan on the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments officially entered into force on August 20, 2025.

This agreement covers investment protection, investment promotion and facilitation, and dispute settlement, providing enhanced institutional safeguards for investors from both sides.

Tajikistan is also a member of the World Trade Organization and the New York Arbitration Convention, providing additional protection for foreign investors.

04 Economic Diversification Strategy

Tajikistan is committed to promoting economic structural transformation. President Rahmon emphasized that the Tajik government is vigorously promoting economic structural transformation, focusing on the development of green energy, smart mining, transportation and logistics, agriculture, and tourism.

Over the past five years, Tajikistan's industrial sector has doubled in size, a result of government support and President Emomali Rahmon's personal and active participation in the implementation of the industrial development strategy.

Renewable energy is a key area of ​​economic diversification in Tajikistan. Although Tajikistan is one of the countries with the richest hydropower resources in Central Asia, with hydropower accounting for over 90% of its energy mix, droughts and climate change have led to unstable hydropower supplies, prompting the government to seek energy diversification.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, Tajikistan receives approximately 1,300-1,600 kWh/m² of solar radiation annually, providing the natural conditions for large-scale photovoltaic projects.

The mining sector also has enormous potential. Tajikistan possesses mineral resources such as silver, lithium, antimony, and copper, which are crucial for green transformation. Huang Jianrong, Chairman of Tajikistan-China Mining Co., Ltd., stated at the forum that the company has begun the comprehensive upgrade and transformation of the "Tajikistan-China Industrial Park" into a world-class non-ferrous metals industrial park.

The company plans to invest US$350 million in renovation and expansion, increasing its annual ore processing capacity to 6 million tons and developing high-value-added downstream industries.

05 Prospects for Regional and Global Cooperation

Tajikistan's geographical location provides it with unique advantages for regional cooperation. President Rahmon noted that Tajikistan, located in the heart of Central Asia, is a key node in the Belt and Road Initiative.

In the first half of 2025, bilateral trade between China and Tajikistan reached US$1.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 37%. To implement the President's directive, the Tajik Minister of Economic Development and Trade reviewed and launched 13 priority projects to attract Chinese investment.

As the rotating chair of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in 2025, Tajikistan is also actively promoting various cooperation agendas. On August 28, 2025, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on "Cooperation between the United Nations and the CIS," initiated by Tajikistan.

The resolution affirmed the role of the CIS in regional economic, security, and cultural cooperation and encouraged it to strengthen collaboration with UN agencies.

The forum organizers adhered to the principle of inclusiveness, inviting multiple partners to participate in the preparations, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This diverse international cooperation framework has attracted investment and technical support from various regions to Tajikistan.

With the conclusion of the forum, these investment agreements will move from paper to reality. Tajik Minister of Industry Sherali Kabir said, "We are confident that through this event we will be able to find partners to jointly implement the largest projects."

Following the forum, Tajikistan's attractiveness to international investors will continue to grow, allowing it to achieve its ambitious economic development plans.