Deputy PM – Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov met yesterday with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Odile Renaud-Basso, who arrived in the country to participate in the Tashkent International Investment Forum, a Dunyo correspondent reports.
According to the MIFT, this is Odile Renault-Basso’s first visit to Uzbekistan as head of the EBRD.
During the meeting, the current state and prospects for deepening cooperation between the EBRD and Uzbekistan in priority areas were discussed.
In particular, further steps were considered for the practical implementation of the EBRD Country Strategy for Uzbekistan for 2018-2023, the key areas of which are to support the development of the private sector, expand regional and international cooperation, and promote clean energy.
The course of investment cooperation was studied: at present, the portfolio of projects implemented in Uzbekistan with the involvement of EBRD financial resources consists of 57 projects with a total value of 1.7 billion euros. The parties discussed further joint actions to accelerate the promotion of current projects, and also discussed aspects of new project initiatives, agreements on which are planned to be signed on the sidelines of the Tashkent International Investment Forum.
Special attention was paid to enhancing cooperation in the textile industry. The EBRD President welcomed the lifting of the boycott of Uzbek textiles by the international coalition Cotton Campaign and expressed her readiness to assist in attracting foreign private sector companies to implement projects in Uzbekistan.
They also touched upon issues related to the holding of the next Annual Meeting of the EBRD Board of Governors this year, which will be held in Marrakesh. An agreement was reached to organize a separate session on the investment prospects of Uzbekistan within the framework of the meeting.
A separate place on the meeting agenda was given to the prospects for expanding the activities of the EBRD in the regions of Uzbekistan. An agreement was reached on the development of three targeted plans for the development of infrastructure and industry for various regions of the country, taking into account their economic potential.
The prospects for deepening partnerships in supporting the development of women’s entrepreneurship were also discussed. The EBRD President announced that the bank plans to increase investments in projects to address gender equality issues and bring their share in total investment to 40%.
In addition, during the constructive dialogue, issues of further deepening the partnership and increasing the number of joint projects in the fields of green energy, the mining sector, transport and the pharmaceutical industry were considered.
Following the meeting, further actions were identified to promote joint programs and initiatives considered during the negotiations.
