Tougher Visa Rules Could Dent Economy

Tajikistan may suffer serious economic losses now that the government has abandoned a more liberal visa policy that it adopted last year to attract foreign investment, say NBcentralAsia experts.



The foreign ministry has abolished a facility by which citizens of 68 countries could obtain a visa at Dushanbe airport without having to apply in advance, according to an Asia Plus news agency report on August 28. The authorities said they withdrew the policy, which came into force in April 2006, because Tajik Air, which runs the airport, had not provided space for the consular service, while the World Bank had failed to provide promised equipment.



Despite complaints from foreign travellers and businessmen who have booked flights to Dushanbe months in advance, visitors from all 68 affected countries now have to apply for a visa from their nearest Tajik embassy for all arrivals scheduled after November 1.



NBCentralAsia observers say the move could damage Tajikistan’s economy by undermining efforts to build up its reputation as a prime spot for tourism and investment.



Just one week before the visa policy switch, President Imomali Rahmon expressed his dissatisfaction with the speed at which free economic zones, FEZ, areas where companies are taxed lightly or not at all to encourage development, are being set up in Tajikistan and called for faster progress.



The authorities have made several other commitments to improving conditions for foreign investors in an effort to boost the economy, and political analyst Shokirjon Hakimov says they have effectively gone back on these pledges by tightening the visa rules.



“Suspending the simplified visa regulations… may scare off potential investors, especially considering that not every country has a Tajik consulate or embassy,” said Hakimov.



NBCentralAsia analyst Parviz Mullojanov says that the new rules are likely to mean most potential visitors to Tajikistan will prefer to stay away.



An employee of a tourist organisation who asked not to be named said countries like Tajikistan that are in need of investment must simplify entry procedures for foreign nationals, not make them tougher. That is the case in virtually all developed countries, he said, “whereas here they are making the procedures more complicated”.



Another analyst, Khodi Abdujabbor, said he believed the authorities were aware of the risks, but had gone ahead with the visa regulations anyway because of security concerns ahead of a number of high-profile international events.



Kazak president Nursultan Nazarbaev and Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov will visiting Dushanbe in October, while the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Community and the Collective Security Treaty Organisation are all holding summits at the capital over the next year.



Citizens from Russia, Kazakstan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan do not need visas to enter Tajikistan.



(NBCentralAsia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)