The following is a post by Nigel Peters, Leader of the First Ever UK Trade Mission to Tajikistan.
My first experience of Central Asia was when I was seconded to what is now UK Trade & Investment from 1993-95 as Export Promoter for Central Asia, helping UK companies understand the business opportunities in the newly independent countries, working with our first resident Ambassadors, and organising the first trade missions. My great disappointment then was that I could not visit Tajikistan, due to the civil war.
I was delighted therefore when HM Ambassador, as part of the Prosperity agenda, invited me to visit Tajikistan in September 2012, in order to write a report on the business opportunities, and then to follow this up with bringing the first ever trade mission to visit Tajikistan in March 2013.
My September visit showed the challenge of just getting to Dushanbe, with flights being few and far between, and the airport experience for the ordinary passenger being the worst I have experienced in 20 years! However, when you actually get to meet ordinary Tajik people your perception of the country changes, and you see a friendly people desperately trying to improve their economy, get decent jobs and make the country a better place to live in for all.
I met all the main development agencies, and saw that in the short term this where the business opportunities lay for UK companies. The follow up trade mission brought out 8 companies who all saw clear funded business opportunities, particularly in the infrastructure sector.
We almost didn’t make it to Dushanbe, in that our Turkish Airlines flight was delayed by 10 hours, but the Embassy bus and Farukh were waiting at the airport to whisk us off to our first meeting, resplendent in our jeans and sneakers! We then had 30 minutes check into the hotel and refresh ourselves before meeting Robin and the rest of the Embassy team for our mission reception.
We had two full days of programmes meeting a very wide range of people. On the second evening were hosted for a barbeque dinner at a delightful country villa by the Council of Business Associations, and here we were introduced to the traditional system of toasting your guests with plentiful vodka! A delightful evening was had by all, many friendships were made, and the sun even came out after two solid days of rain!
I very much look forward to keeping in contact with Robin, Farukh and the rest of the Embassy team, and hope it will not be too long before I visit Dushanbe again.