“Uzbekistan should liberalize electricity and natural gas prices” – WB Vice President Anna Bjerde

The second Uzbekistan Economic Forum started its work in the city of Samarkand. Speaking at the opening of the forum, the World Bank Vice President, Anna Bjerde, counting the achievements of Uzbekistan in the past period, said that we should not stop there, the Kun.uz correspondent reported.

“Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan, exported more goods at higher prices than forecast and maintained a strong flow of remittances,” she said.

Anna Bjerde emphasized that more needs to be done to level the playing field for the private sector and support productivity growth.

“In order to increase its international competitiveness, Uzbekistan should further liberalize capital, energy and raw materials, labor markets and reduce trade costs,” she said.

Among the issues that Uzbekistan should resolve, Anna Bjerde lists the following:

To avoid resource misallocation and improve performance

•  price liberalization – for example, basic raw materials, electricity, natural gas, land, business services, agricultural products and raw cotton;
•  strengthening the business environment;
•  continuing to reform the sector of state banks, insurance sector and non-bank credit organizations;
•  reforming the corporate governance of state-owned enterprises and improving their financial performance;
•  improvement of financial systems and strengthening of business environment;
•  improving the quality of health and education services.

“Many of these changes are complex and require gradual implementation with careful preparation,” she said.

The WB representative hoped to conduct meaningful and open discussions during the Uzbekistan Economic Forum on how to act in the interests of Uzbekistan and its future generations.