Ambassador of Tajikistan Khamrokhon Zaripov Tiny Tajikistan Makes Its Mark by Proximity by Larry Luxner Most Americans can barely pronounce the name of his country, let alone find it on a world map. But after 9/11 and the war in neighboring Afghanistan, tiny Tajikistan is more important than ever to policymakers in Washington. Khamrokhon Zaripov, Tajikistanís ambassador to the United States, says that before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, ìnobody knew anything about Central Asia.î Few people knew, for example, that Tajikistanópronounced Tah-ji-ki-stanóhad the lowest per-capita income of any of the 15 former Soviet republics upon independence in 1991. Or that within a year, Tajikistanís secular government had become embroiled in a brutal civil war with Islamic conservatives that lasted until 1997. Or that Tajikistan is the only Islamic country in the world that has since established a coalition government with those very same Islamic fundamentalists. ìUnfortunately, the world largely ignored this experiment, the success of which could have had profound implications for the way the Western world reacts to resurgent political Islam e lsewhere,î according to a recent article in Foreign Affairs. Zaripov says Tajikistan deliberately chose ìdemocracy, human rights and freedom of the pressî over totalitarianism, and is therefore more attractive to potential foreign investorsódespite the massive war damages that devastated his little country. ìThe consequences of the civil war were very severe. We had $7 billion in damages, and approximately 40 percent of our [gross domestic product] was lost,î he says, noting that the economy didnít begin growing again until 1996. ìOver the last three years, we have had an average of 10 percent growth annually, and in the first four months of 2003, growth of 13 percent.î Nevertheless, the Iowa-size country is still the poorest in Central Asia. Its current gross domestic product is only 38 percent of what it was in 1990, and more than two-thirds of its 6 million inhabitants live on less than $2 a day. The country is also predominantly Muslim, with small Christian, Jewish and other minority sects. Zaripov says that around 10,000 Tajiks live in the United States, most of them Jews who emigrated during the civil war and now reside in the New York borough of Queens, where they flourish as doctors, attorneys, insurance agents and software engineers. The 53-year-old diplomatóinterviewed at his residence over coffee, pastries and pilov, a traditional Tajik lamb-and-rice dishówas born in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. A longtime member of the Communist Party, he rose through the ranks of Soviet bureaucracy until Tajik independence in 1991, when he joined the new countryís Foreign Ministry. Before his current posting in Washington, Zaripov served as Tajikistan's ambassador to Austria, Switzerland and Hungary. ìTen years ago,î he says, ìI left the party and am now a member of the National Democratic Peopleís Party of Tajikistan,î which holds 70 percent of the seats in Tajikistanís 130-seat Parliament. In late June, the countryís citizens voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to change the Tajik constitution and allow President Emomali Rahmonov to remain in power for up to 14 more years. Officials said that more than 93 percent of voters backed the proposal and that turnout at the countryís 2,800 polling stations exceeded 96 percent. ìWe are in a better position than the other countries in the region. We have two Islamic parties in our Parliament, and we have absolutely no problem with Islamic extremists,î says the ambassador. ìExtremism has disappeared. Tajikistan is now the safest place in the region. You can visit anywhere in our country without any trouble.î Zaripov, who has a 22-year-old son, Siayvush, and a 20-year-old daughter, Rikhshonka, lives in an apartment building next to the Watergate complex. He often walks to the Tajik Embassy, located in an office building at 17th and K streets. A new embassy will soon open on New Hampshire Avenue, as soon as local zoning issues are resolved. In the last two months, Zaripovís embassy has issued about 200 tourist visas to Americans, whom he says are finally starting to discover his country. ìWe have very good relations with the United States. We were allied with the U.S. against the Taliban,î he says. ìLast December, President Rahmonov visited Washington and met with Bush, Cheney, Powell and Rumsfeld,î he says referring to the U.S. president, vice president, secretary of state and secretary of defense. Zaripov adds, ìWe have a 1,500-kilometer border with Afghanistan, and before 9/11, we suffered from Taliban extremists. After the war there, the situation has completely changed, and all those threats have disappeared.î In the last 10 years, the United States has budgeted approximately $490 million to fund assistance programs in Tajikistan, plus $73 million worth of surplus Pentagon funds and privately donated humanitarian commodities. The biggest chunk of the $141.5 million budgeted for financial aid to Tajikistan in fiscal 2002 is being spent on humanitarian assistance ($75.6 million) and security and law enforcement ($21.5 million), with the remainder going toward democratic programs, social services, market reform and community development. In addition, more than 1,000 Tajik citizens have traveled to the United States for educational and professional exchange programs since 1993ómainly to universities in Colorado and Nebraska. Since 1987, Dushanbe and Boulder, Colo., have been sister cities. In 1989, Dushanbe presented its counterpart with a traditional Tajik teahouse that has since become one of downtown Boulderís main tourist attractions. As a gesture of thanks, the citizens of Boulder are raising $660,000 to build a restaurant and cyber-cafÈ along a main boulevard in downtown Dushanbe. The cyber-cafÈ, complete with 18 computer workstations, will feature a contemporary Colorado architectural design and is scheduled for completion in October 2004. Yet when asked about economic relations with Moscow, Zaripov simply handed us a book titled ìThe Piratization of Russia: Russian Reform Goes Awryî by Marshall I. Goldman, which seems to sum up the ambassadorís views. ìIn general, our relations with Russia are good, especially in the political and military sphere,î he says, noting that Russian-led peacekeeping troops remain posted throughout the country. ìBut the level of economic cooperation is not satisfactory for Tajikistan. We really donít know why the Russians are so reluctant in the economic field.î Even so, Tajikistanís ties to Russia are excellent when compared to its relationship with neighboring Uzbekistan, with which the Tajiks have had constant problems. ìIn the past 10 years, we have had some misunderstandings with Uzbekistan, mostly because of activities of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan [IMU]. This terrorist organization, together with the Islamic Tajik opposition, fought against our government during the civil war in Tajikistan from 1992 to 1997. Unfortunately at that time, the world community did not recognize the IMU as a terrorist group. ìIn 1997, after the signing of a peace agreement, they fled to Afghanistan and joined the Taliban, continuing to destabilize Central Asia. Only during the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan was the IMU recognized as a terrorist organization and significantly weakened,î Zaripov says. ìWith the disappearance of the IMU and other well-known regional terrorist groups, our relations with Uzbekistan significantly improved. However, problems still arise from time to time.î Unlike Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and a few other oil-producing countries in the region, Tajikistan's proven reserves come to just 12 million barrels. State petroleum entity Tajikneftegaz produces an average of 350 barrels a dayódown from 1,311 barrels a little more than a decade ago. Its natural gas and coal reserves donít look too promising either. Where Tajikistan shows real potential is in hydroelectric power. More than 90 percent of the country is mountainous, which in turn accounts for 55 percent of Central Asiaís fresh water supply. Zaripov says that despite its small size, Tajikistan ranks second only to Russia among the former Soviet republicsóand eighth in the worldóin the production of cheap hydroelectric power. ìTajikistan offers lots of potential for investment,î the ambassador says. ìThree years ago, we began constructing Rogunsk, a huge, 3.6-gigawatt hydroelectric dam, in order to export power to Afghanistan, Pakistan and China. Rogunsk will be the 15th-largest hydroelectric plant in the world. About 40 percent of it is finished, and weíll need $1.2 billion to finish it.î Tajikistan also has promising deposits of gold, silver and aluminum. It now produces 350,000 tons of aluminum a year and has the capacity to produce much more, says Zaripov, if only the investment dollars were available. But Tajikistanís economic success depends largely on political stability in Central Asia. The U.S.-led war against Iraq didnít greatly affect Tajikistan, which Zaripov says enjoys good relations with both Israel and the Arab worldóparticularly Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. In looking for a model to follow, Tajikistan still casts a wary eye toward its larger neighbors in the region. ìIraq is too far away, but Afghanistan concerns us. If we donít keep the Afghan situation in focus, the extremists might come back,î warns Zaripov. ìRegarding Iran, we have cultural and historical similarities, but politically, we have different views. Iran is ruled by Islamic clerics, and during our civil war, some groups of extremists wanted to do the same in Tajikistan. But the majority of our people want a secular, democratic society.î Larry Luxner is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.