Intro

I am a man and patriot of my country, this tiny bit of land called Tajikistan. And, you know, with September 9 coming soon, I usually wonder a lot about its future. Why? Because I care, because I am Eraj. You cannot invest in someone else's country if you've got your own. You gotta become someone so that people say, "Hey, this is the guy who built all of that." And I want to become that person people point at.

LKW

In August 1965, Singapore was suddenly facing a future nobody had really planned for. Lee Kuan Yew had spent years fighting for Singapore to be part of Malaysia, believing that a united Malaysia was the answer. But after political tensions, racial conflict, and deep disagreements with Kuala Lumpur, Singapore was separated from Malaysia on 9 August 1965.

Lee appeared before the cameras that morning, and what followed became one of the most famous political moments in modern Asian history. He was visibly emotional and broke down in tears because, to him, separation represented the collapse of a dream he had fought for years to achieve.

Yet Singapore was now independent, whether it wanted to be or not. The country's own official history describes it as an extremely uncertain moment: Singapore had no natural resources, no hinterland, serious security concerns, and an uncertain economic future.

And then came the extraordinary part: Lee and his team decided that if independence had been forced upon Singapore, they would make it work. They built a state around economic openness, strong institutions, education, infrastructure, security, meritocracy, and aggressive international engagement.

Over the following decades, Singapore transformed from a tiny and vulnerable new country into one of the world's major financial and commercial centres. The passport became a symbol of that transformation. In 2026, the Henley Passport Index ranks Singapore's passport #1 in the world, with access to 192 destinations without obtaining a visa in advance.

So there is something almost poetic about the story: in 1965, Lee Kuan Yew stood in front of the cameras crying because Singapore had seemingly lost its future; six decades later, that same tiny island has one of the world's strongest economies, one of its most respected international positions, and the world's most powerful passport.

Lesson for Tajiks

What do you think is most important for the people of that time? None of them knew their passport would become a blessing from God, saving thousands of dollars in the near future. Can you imagine that? The country begging for unification was forced to wander alone.

Tajikistan is not an exception. Right now, because of a dozen powerful Tajiks, Tajikistan is becoming the country whose passport could become the next goal for many Asian countries. Why? Because we are much cheaper and more effective. Let me give you the statistics.

I was actually curious about the Tajik passport and how much it has changed over the years. As of 2026, depending on which index and methodology you use, the Tajik passport gives access to around 54 destinations without having to obtain a visa in advance.

What surprised me is that this number has roughly doubled since 2006, when Tajik citizens had access to only around 27 destinations. Over the years, the number gradually increased, reaching the 50s in recent years, although it has fluctuated a little.

Of course, Tajikistan is still nowhere near Singapore, whose passport is now ranked among the strongest in the world, but the progress is still interesting. We sometimes look at our passport and complain about how difficult it can be to travel, but if you look at the numbers over a longer period, there has actually been progress.

Tajikistan has expanded visa-free and simplified entry arrangements with a number of countries, and today the passport gives Tajik citizens considerably more mobility than it did 15 or 20 years ago.

The question is whether we can take it from around 54 destinations to 80, 100, or even more in the future.