China will provide Tajikistan with $230 million to build a new parliament, authorities in the impoverished state said Wednesday, the latest step by Beijing to bolster its influence in the country.

China -- which already owns over half of Tajikistan's public debt -- has long sought to increase ties in the ex-Soviet Central Asia region which Moscow has traditionally viewed as its backyard.

Construction of the mammoth parliament project is expected to begin later this year and the money has been "allocated by the Chinese side," Tajik official Jamshed Akhmadzoda said.

China is a vital source of investments in mainly agrarian Tajikistan, which is also strongly dependent on remittances sent home by migrant workers in Russia.

Beijing owns some $1.2 billion of the country's total external debt of $2.3 billion, a share equal to around a sixth of GDP.

Strategically located on the border of China's restive Xinjiang province and conflict-wracked Afghanistan, Tajikistan is the poorest of the former ex-Soviet republics.

That has however not stopped authorities under strongman ruler Emomali Rakhmon from splashing out on a string of lavish projects, including a super-sized library and what was once the world's tallest flagpole.

For the most part, Chinese economic assistance to Tajikistan has targeted key infrastructure projects including roads and railways linking the republic's north and south.

Last October China stepped up its security footprint in the country of 8.5 million people by staging bilateral military exercises close to the porous 1,300-kilometre border with Afghanistan.

Tajikistan is a key route for drug smugglers trafficking heroin from Afghanistan to Russia and Europe.

Tweet

Afghan forces retake district in Helmand from Taliban: US
Washington (AFP) July 17, 2017
Afghan security forces supported by US air power have retaken the center of volatile Nawa district from the Taliban in southern Helmand province, US officials said Monday. Backed by strikes from F-16 fighters and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, Afghan troops began the two-day operation Saturday near the city of Lashkar Gar, which is the capital of Helmand. Officials said the operation t ... read more

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only