After talks with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Nazarbaev said the sides agreed to set up a joint investment fund of $100 million that will be used to invest in projects in Tajikistan, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reported.
"The fund will give priority to the economic areas that are of interest to both countries: electric power generation, agriculture, the mining industry, and other important spheres of the economy. I'm confident that the fund will have a significant influence on broadening our investment cooperation," Nazarbaev said.
Nazarbaev said Kazakhstan will provide 80 percent of the money for the fund.
He also noted that the governmental Investment Fund of Kazakhstan is considering participating in projects to build small power plants in Tajikistan.
He said Kazakhstan's sustainable-development fund, Kaznya, is ready to finance the construction of the Nurobod hydroelectric power plant in northern Tajikistan.
Nazarbaev also urged the creation of a Central Asian Economic Union, which, he said, will help open borders and boost the economies of the region.
Rahmon backed the idea of forming such a union.
Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org
