Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The United Nations Development Programme in partnership with the Ministry of Finance are conducting a series of Financing Dialogues aimed to discuss the draft of the Integrated National Financing Strategy for Uzbekistan and to prioritize the implementation plan. This two-day event, comprised of thematic discussions with key partners, will help to compile a final draft of the strategy.

Since 2021, the Government of Uzbekistan, in close cooperation with UNDP, has been developing the Integrated National Financing Strategy (INFF). The overall purpose of this Financing Strategy is to provide a new integrated financing approach that combines public and private sources to finance Uzbekistan’s national development priorities and the SDGs in the long term. 

Facilitating the Financing dialogues is an essential step to ensure that the reforms and measures proposed in the Strategy are most effective for Uzbekistan’s context. The Financing dialogues provide an opportunity to bring together representatives of the Government, private sector, research institutions and development partners with the aim to discuss the main components of the strategy, proposed policy reforms and measures, and find common ground.

In her welcoming speech, UNDP Resident Representative Ms. Matilda Dimovska highlighted that “The novelty of this Strategy lies in its integrated approach. The Financing Strategy aims to foster practices to mobilize private and public flows from domestic and external sources and combine financing policies to increase their overall impact.”

As Deputy Minister of Finance Mr. Akhadbek Khaydarov noted: “The Financing Strategy establishes a framework for aligning financing decisions with the medium and long-term national development priorities outlined in the Government’s Development Strategy for 2022-2026. As a result, it will help avoid fragmented decision-making, better coordinate efforts and identify gaps and opportunities for resource mobilization.”

Sessions of Financing dialogues are organized according to the main thematic areas of the Strategy, including the improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of public expenditures, measures to mobilize domestic resources and state revenues, management of the public debt, creating enabling environment for private sector and foreign direct investment, introduction and expansion of the use of blended financing mechanisms and many others.

During the thematic sessions, invited experts will present their assessments of the Strategy’s key reforms and actions, as well as provide recommendations for further improvement of the document. Expert recommendations will be incorporated into the final version of the Financing Strategy for Uzbekistan.

This event is part of the substantial work on development of the Integrated SDG Financing Strategy for Uzbekistan.  The next step will be Government’s approval of the Strategy and its implementation to accelerate progress in ending poverty, protect the environment, and enhance the achievement of all the 16 national Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Uzbekistan.