Pentagon official says U.S. war in Iran has cost $25 billion so far
A Pentagon official provided the first official estimate of the cost of the U.S. war in Iran on Wednesday (29 April), telling lawmakers that $25 bi...
The World Bank has announced that Tajikistan's medium-term outlook remains favourable, with growth projected to moderate to 7% in 2025 and converge toward a growth rate of 4.5% in 2026 and 5% in 2027.
Economic outlook faces several downside risks that stem from Russia’s labor migration policies, global policy instability, and ongoing regional conflicts.
The World Bank’s annual Tajikistan Economic Update, released today, emphasized that sustaining Tajikistan’s strong economic momentum and unlocking its growth potential will require the government’s firm commitment to accelerating reforms. Key priorities include attracting greater private investment by strengthening the competition framework, streamlining investment procedures, enhancing investor protection, and improving public sector efficiency and accountability to ensure better public service delivery.
Tajikistan’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth reached 8.4% in 2024 and 8.2% in the first quarter of 2025 with services and industry driving the expansion. Domestic demand was bolstered by substantial remittance inflows, which totaled approximately 49% of GDP in 2024 compared to 39% in 2023, and by increased public sector wages.
The World Bank draws the attention to the importance of digital transformation in Tajikistan’s trade sector, pointing to significant infrastructure and regulatory gaps, which could bring substantial benefits. The report notes that poor internet connectivity affects nearly half of the country’s customs checkpoints. Additionally, there are shortcomings in areas such as digital identity, paperless trade, data protection, security standards, cross-border data transfers, and consumer safeguards.
“Tajikistan stands at a crucial juncture in its economic development, where smart digital transformation can positively shape its trade prospects for years to come,” said Bakhrom Ziyaev, the World Bank Senior Economist for Tajikistan and author of the report. “By prioritizing these reforms, Tajikistan has the potential to significantly facilitate trade and digitalization of the economy thus unlocking substantial economic growth, generating new high-value employment opportunities, and enhancing its integration into the regional and global digital economy.”
The World Bank's report identifies several priority areas for accelerating digitalization in Tajikistan, including strengthening digital connectivity and cybersecurity, modernizing government digital services to improve online service efficiency, creating an integrated ecosystem for seamless trade and implementing performance monitoring.
The Bank projected that e-commerce market in the country is expected to grow at a modest 4.7% annual rate from 2025 to 2029, reaching $28.4million by 2029. Referring to an international experience, strong digital trade regulations can reduce goods trade costs by up to 20% and service costs by up to 30%.
However, Tajikistan needs to accelerate the improvement of its legal and regulatory frameworks, which currently have significant gaps hindering the development of digital commerce. It also emphasizes the importance of strengthening the legal framework to align with international standards for electronic transactions and data protection.
A Pentagon official provided the first official estimate of the cost of the U.S. war in Iran on Wednesday (29 April), telling lawmakers that $25 billion had so far been spent on the conflict, most of it on munitions. Earlier, Donald Trump said that the U.S. had "militarily defeated" Tehran.
Tensions between the United States and Iran remain high after a U.S. official said President Donald Trump was unhappy with a proposal from Tehran that does not deal with its nuclear programme. Washington is insisting that any talks must address Iran’s nuclear activities.
The decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave OPEC+ on 1 May has put renewed focus on one of the most influential groups in global energy - and how its decisions can shape oil prices worldwide.
The death toll from a train collision near Indonesia’s capital Jakarta rose to 14 women on Tuesday (28 April), with 84 people injured, after rescuers completed efforts to free passengers trapped in the wreckage, the state rail operator said.
Mexican special forces arrested Audias Flores, known as “El Jardinero”, a senior commander of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), during an operation in the western state of Nayarit, Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said on Monday (27 April).
The decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave OPEC+ on 1 May has put renewed focus on one of the most influential groups in global energy - and how its decisions can shape oil prices worldwide.
The United Arab Emirates has said it's quitting OPEC from 1 May, dealing a major blow to the oil producers’ group and its de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, amid disruption caused by the Iran war.
As the Iran war disrupts global flows of oil and gas and energy prices skyrocket, the Drin River, which descends through the mountains of northern Albania, is acting as a kind of shield.
China has ordered Meta to unwind its more than $2 billion acquisition of artificial intelligence start-up Manus, marking a major escalation in Beijing’s scrutiny of foreign investment in sensitive technology sectors. The order was issued on Monday by the National Development and Reform Commission.
Adidas shares rose after Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe delivered a historic performance at the London Marathon on Sunday (26 April), becoming the first athlete to run an official marathon in under two hours.
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