Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) –– On 14 March 2019 Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Kuwait Bakhromjon Aloev met with Regional Manager for Central Asia and Europe of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) Fawaz Al-Adsani, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan said.

During the conversation, issues of further development of financial and technical cooperation between Uzbekistan and the KFAED were discussed.

Fawaz al-Adsani, praising the current state and prospects for cooperation between the two parties, expressed appreciation for the effective joint work with the Embassy.

“Uzbekistan, due to its sustainable economy and creditworthiness, is one of the reliable partners of the Kuwaiti Fund,” said the regional manager of the KFAED. - In the period from 1997 to 2018, the KFAED allocated soft loans totaling US$183.164 million for implementing 9 social projects and grants for US$2.456 million to prepare a feasibility study for 5 projects in your republic. They were used in areas such as improving water supply, restoring the irrigation network and drainage system, equipping district and city hospitals with the Republican specialized center for cardiac surgery, developing engineering infrastructure in rural areas and reconstructing roads, and others with modern medical equipment. ”

Fawaz al-Adesani underlined that on 10 March 2019, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Uzbekistan and the KFAED, about the provision of concessional loans in 2017-2019, the Fund’s Board of Directors approved the allocation of the second tranche of concessional loans worth US$30 million. These loans will be used to finance infrastructure projects included in the Program for the construction of individual housing in rural areas in Uzbekistan, which will be implemented in the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Kashkadarya, Samarkand, Surkhandarya, Fergana and Tashkent regions.

Experts of the Kuwaiti Fund are currently preparing a visit to Uzbekistan to identify projects and prepare a draft loan agreement, which is planned to be signed in the second half of this year.

The loan agreement on provision within the framework of the above-mentioned Memorandum of the first tranche of preferential loans in the amount of US$30 million was signed on 30 January 2018 in Tashkent and is being successfully implemented.

On 29 November 2018, the KFAED Board of Directors also approved a decision on the allocation of a grant in the amount of US$500,000 for preparation of a feasibility study of two projects - “Improving the water supply system in the city of Kagan and Kagan district of Bukhara region” and “Improving the drinking water supply system in Sherabad district of Surkhandarya region”.

Following the talks, an agreement was reached to start joint work on preparation of the next Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Uzbekistan and the KFAED on the provision of soft loans in 2020-2022 to finance social projects in our country.