Political relations between the EU and Tajikistan are guided by the bilateral Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in force since 2010, and the new EU Strategy on Central Asia “New Opportunities for a Stronger Partnership”, adopted in 2019.  With a vision to bring their relations to a new level, at the beginning of 2023 the EU and Tajikistan have started negotiations on an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA).  

The EU Special Representative for Central Asia, Ambassador Terhi Hakala, regularly visits Tajikistan.  During her visits, she meets with a wide range of interlocutors to discuss Tajikistan’s role in the regional context, developments in the areas on the EU – Tajikistan and EU- Central Asia agenda as well as Tajikistan’s reform agenda.

Strategic Documents

The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement came into force on 1 January 2010 after ratification by all EU countries. It contributes to enhance bilateral relations and heighten the EU profile in Tajikistan, setting out the parameters for increased political dialogue, bilateral cooperation and the promotion of bilateral trade and investments. 

The new EU Strategy on Central Asia aims to forge a stronger, modern and non-exclusive partnership between the European Union and the countries of Central Asia. The main objective is to develop as a sustainable, prosperous, and closely interconnected economic and political regional space. 

The Cooperation Council between the European Union is an annual platform to hold high- level exchange to discuss the state of play of bilateral relations, address political and socio-economic developments, trade, investment and energy cooperation, as well as regional and international issues. The Cooperation Council held its tenth meeting on 26 June 2023 in Luxembourg.

Closer to the Tajik people

In order to bring the EU closer to the Tajik people, the EU organises European Week each year. This is an opportunity to introduce European cultures to Tajikistan and to outline the work of the EU Delegation. Furthermore, many Tajik students have already been successful in applying for the Erasmus Plus programme, which allows them to study in the EU. 

Trade and economic relations between the EU and Tajikistan are governed by the Partnership and Co-operation Agreement (PCA) signed in October 2004 and which came into force on 1 January 2010. The agreement provides for a non-preferential agreement under which the parties grant each other 'most-favoured nation' (MFN) treatment with respect to tariffs whilst quantitative restrictions are prohibited in bilateral trade. 

The agreement also envisages progressive regulatory approximation of the national legislation and practices to the most important EU trade-related standards, including technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, protection of intellectual property rights, and customs issues. This should lead to better practical access to the EU markets for goods originating in Tajikistan. 

EU Systems of Preferences

Tajikistan is also a beneficiary of the EU's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), a bilateral trade arrangement through which the EU provides preferential access to its market to developing countries and territories, in the form of reduced tariffs for their goods when entering the EU market. Preferential imports from Tajikistan are heavily concentrated in two sectors, industrial products such as base metals and textiles. 

Tajikistan is the smallest trade partner of the EU in Central Asia. In 2023, the EU exported €326 m to Tajikistan and imported € 174 m (mainly base metals, textiles and mineral products), with an increase of imports and exports compared to 2022 (from 144m for imports and 261m for exports). Tajikistan joined the WTO in 2013 but has so far not substantially benefited from it in terms of trade flows. Tajikistan has recently become committed to join the Special Incentive Arrangement for Sustainable Development and Good Governance (GSP+). GSP+ can act as a positive political and economic signal to the international community and business that the government is binding itself to international law and continuous, transparent monitoring. 

Loans and Investments

The EU has developed several loans and investment programmes from which Tajikistan has benefited in the past. Tajikistan received its first European Investment Bank (EIB) loan in 2011, and in the same year, the EU and Tajikistan signed the Financing Agreement for a Human Development Support Programme regarding health, social protection and public finance management. 

High-level Discussion

Economic relations have often been on the agenda of the Cooperation Council of the EU and Tajikistan, which holds annual high-level discussions, at FMs level. These have underlined the importance of economic reforms in Tajikistan and the significant increase in bilateral trade that the EU and Tajikistan have witnessed. The eleventh Cooperation Council between the European Union (EU) and Tajikistan is planned in early 2025. 

Civil society in Tajikistan is actively engaged in the preparation of the annual EU –Tajikistan Human Rights Dialogue, which is the main political arena for discussing human rights issues with the Tajik authorities. 

The Thematic Programme for Civil Society Organisations  is an EU instrument that aims at strengthening CSOs as independent actors of good governance and development in their own right. The projects under this programme mainly focus on inclusive CSO participation in dialogue and to strengthen CSO partner capacities. Tajikistan receives around €950,000 per year under the CSO thematic programme. 

Civil Society Seminars 

As part of its engagement with civil society, the EU Delegation discusses important human rights topics with representatives of civil society in Tajikistan. Once a year, the EU organises a Civil Society seminar, discussing a different topic each time. 

Civil Society Organisations

In March 2024, the EU Delegation to Tajikistan published a new call for proposals to promote and protect human rights and support civil society organisations.

Applicants were requested to apply for EU funding for projects in the three  prioritised areas:

1. Supporting freedom of media, access to information and fight against disinformation, also with respect to new technologies and digital rights
2. Contributing to empowerment of civil society, in particular HRDs
3. Contributing to eradication of torture and fighting impunity, and supporting penitentiary system reform

The European Union in this call for proposals allocated a total of €1 855 000. Applicants could request a grant between €300,000 and €400,000.

The EU - Tajikistan cooperation on development matters stretches back to 1991. The EU’s cooperation activities have up until today covered a wide range of areas, including rule of law, good governance, human rights, health, education, water, energy, and rural development.

The EU’s cooperation activities aim to support a sustainable human and socio-economic development of the country and boost regional cooperation between the Central Asian countries, hence contributing to regional stability and enhanced intra-regional connectivity. The EU puts a strong emphasis on supporting reforms in sectors of key importance for national development, such as energy and water, working closely with the Government of Tajikistan and our partners, including IFIs, such as the World Bank, ADB and the EBRD.

The EU defines its medium and long-term international cooperation priorities at the bilateral, regional and thematic level through Multiannual Indicative Programmes (MIPs), which cover a period of seven years. The MIPs are designed together with the partner country government to ensure alignment with relevant national development strategies. The MIP is also coordinated with development partners to ensure complementarity.

EU - Tajikistan bilateral cooperation

Under the previous bilateral MIP for Tajikistan for the period 2014-2020, the EU allocated EUR 251m, mainly to support the rural development, education and health sectors in the country. The EU’s focus on rural development and health has been particularly strong during this period.

On rural development, the EU is providing significant support in areas such as agricultural production, value-chain development, natural resource management, and the efficient and sustainable use of water.

On health – under the Health Development Programme (HDP) – the EU is providing a wide range of support, including to strengthen the primary health care system; providing water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and waste management infrastructures in health care facilities; and improving coordination between the actors in the sector.

Building on previous efforts, the EU has allocated EUR 91m for its cooperation with Tajikistan for the 2021-2024 period, focusing on three priority areas:

1. Inclusive green and digital economy
2. Human development
3. Natural resources management, efficiency, and resilience

Under the EUR 91m envelope, the EU has approved a number of key actions, such as:

• A EUR 30m budget support programme to support Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Public Financial Management (PFM)
• The EUR 15m Sustainable Energy Support Programme, which will amongst other things provide a large 10m technical assistance package to support the ongoing energy sector reform.
• The EUR 14m Rural Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Project with the World Bank to support the country’s water sector reform efforts, including by improving institutional capacity and providing infrastructure to improve drinking water supply in rural areas.

In addition, the EU is preparing a project to support the cotton sector in the country, in particular to promote sustainable cotton value-chains.

Additional funds will be allocated for the remaining MIP period of 2025-2027.

Regional and thematic cooperation

At the regional level, the EU cooperates with Tajikistan within the framework of the EU’s Strategy for Central Asia, adopted in 2019. Tajikistan is benefiting from more than 40 regional programmes (approximately EUR 450m) in the fields of economic development, border management, trade, energy, nuclear safety, disaster risk reduction, environment, climate change, and water resilience.

Tajikistan is a beneficiary of two newly launched Team Europe Initiatives (TEIs) under the new regional MIP. The TEIs focus on (i) water, energy & climate and (ii) digital connectivity respectively – two areas of critical importance for Central Asia and where the EU and its member states can provide substantial added value thanks to their vast experience of cooperation in the regional water sector and high technical standards on key sectors for connectivity such as energy and digitalisation.

Tajikistan also benefits from thematic support through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights, global initiatives like the Spotlight Initiative, Global Partnership for Education, and the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Cooperation, and others.

Tajikistan is prone to various and frequent natural disasters such as floods, landslides, cold waves and earthquakes. In recent years, the rising temperatures due to climate change are exacerbating the impact of climate-related disasters. Floods occur regularly, which can be quite disastrous to some communities at the local level. 

In response to a series of floods and mudflows that wreaked havoc across large parts of Tajikistan in early May 2021, the European Union provided EUR 100,000 in humanitarian aid funding to assist the most vulnerable communities.

The EU stands by the Tajik People with a contribution of € 48 million in the Team Europe Package adopted on 11 April, which EU provided as part of a comprehensive €112.2 million development cooperation support package, to assist Tajikistan respond to the threat of coronavirus and address longer-term health and socio-economic needs to enhance livelihoods. 

The package consists of three interlinked programs: the Health Development Program (€52.2 million), the Quality Education Support Program II (€50 million), and Support to Civil Registry System Reform (€10 million). The first two programs contain elements (worth €46.2 million in total) that will directly support the emergency response to the pandemic, as well as boost efforts to mitigate its negative socio-economic impacts. 

EIB made a 20 million € loan available for crisis response (pending consultation and approval). The EIB emergency response is a combination of rapid utilisation of signed credit lines and preparation of new loans, to support Tajikistan’s health sector modernisation and SMEs. 

Global Gateway is the European strategy to boost smart, clean and secure connections in digital, energy and transport sectors, and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. Through a 'Team Europe approach', Global Gateway brings together the EU, its Member States and their financial and development institutions to mobilise the private sector to leverage investments promoting sustainable growth.

Between 2021 and 2027, Team Europe is mobilising up to €300 billion of investments for sustainable, transformational and high-quality projects, taking into account the needs of partner countries and ensuring lasting benefits for local communities. This allows EU’s partners to create resilient and sustainable societies and economies, but also create opportunities for the EU Member States’ private sector to invest and remain competitive, whilst ensuring the highest environmental and labour standards, as well as sound financial management.

More information on Global Gateway

Global Gateway offer in Tajikistan

At the country level, in Tajikistan, the Global Gateway strategy focuses on strategic partnerships in energy, transport and raw materials.

On a broader regional scale, Global Gateway extends its efforts beyond Critical Raw Materials to include crucial areas such as Satellite Connectivity and Transport, fostering sustainable and inclusive development across Central Asia and also Mongolia.

By connecting continents and communities, Global Gateway is shaping a more resilient, green, and interconnected world.

More information on the EU partnerships with Tajikistan.