Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Chairperson of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbaeva, during a working visit to London, met with the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Odile Renaud-Basso.

It was noted with satisfaction that the 32nd annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development was successfully held in Samarkand last May.

The event became an important platform for broad discussion and development of recommendations for the sustainable development of the global economy.

It should be noted that over the past 6 years, cooperation between Uzbekistan and the EBRD has reached a qualitatively new level.

Today, the bank’s project portfolio in the country exceeds 4 billion euros. With financial support from the EBRD, vital projects are being implemented to improve the well-being of the population and create new jobs.

Uzbekistan entered the top five main partners of the bank. In terms of annual investment volumes, our country has become the largest business partner of the EBRD in Central Asia.

The areas of joint initiatives being implemented between Uzbekistan and the EBRD were discussed at the meeting.

Thus, as part of the bank’s strategy for Uzbekistan, it was proposed to develop a program to support youth, focusing on their involvement in scientific activities, the development of innovation, and promoting the development of business and entrepreneurship.

In addition, based on the fact that issues of gender equality are a priority of state policy, prospects for cooperation on vocational training for rural women and the development of entrepreneurship skills were considered together with the EBRD.

Odile Renaud-Basso emphasized that the recently approved Country Strategy for our country for 2024–2029 by the EBRD is fully consistent with the Uzbekistan 2030 Strategy, which reflects the priorities identified by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev such as greening the economy, inclusivity and gender equality , as well as digitalization.

During the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Republican Commission on increasing the role of women in society, gender equality and family and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The memorandum provides for expanding women’s opportunities in the labor market, achieving gender balance in employment, increasing opportunities to gain access to credit resources and increasing financial independence.