Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 4-5 February, a 2-day seminar was held devoted to the opening of the project “Institutional Capacity Building”, which will be implemented by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the World Bank.

The seminar was attended by directors of regional departments of the World Bank, leading experts in the field of public finance management, representatives of international financial institutions, ministries and departments participating in the project, as well as national experts.

Measures to improve the public finance management system, conditions for market operations of the corporate sector, and mechanisms for supporting the ongoing reforms will be carried out within the framework of the project in 2019-2024.

The project will be financed by the International Development Association, a member of the World Bank Group. The total cost of the project equals to US$33 million. This project сomprises 3 main components:

• the first component is to improve public financial management, which provides for the introduction of effective mechanisms aimed at improving the efficiency of budget expenditures, ameliorating the process of public investment management, modernizing the system of state internal control and internal audit;
• the second component is effective management of state assets and the reform of state enterprises, improving the regulatory framework governing the activities of state enterprises, introducing the principles of a modern market economy of control and management of state enterprises, developing management tools, capacity building of all state institutions involved in the field of privatization and development of public-private partnerships;
• the third component is provision of support for economic reforms in the country, as well as the Economic Council created for this purpose.

During the seminar, the ongoing reforms in the field of public finance management and institutional capacity building, increasing knowledge and skills of national personnel were noted to be significantly important factors for ensuring the effectiveness of the reforms, which were also emphasized in the message of the President to the Oliy Majlis.

In turn, representatives of the World Bank highlighted that this project is a new stage in the development of relationship between the two parties. They also noted that the World Bank will continue to support institutional changes in Uzbekistan via an ongoing project, emphasizing that such a mutually beneficial partnership will continue in a broader format.

During the first part of the day, experts from various ministries and departments discussed the action plan considering various areas of the project in detail. The second part of the day was held in a workshop format, where international and national experts were divided into working groups to discuss the possibilities of building staff capacity in relevant areas and discuss the action plan implemented during the project.

At the end of the opening ceremony, conclusions were made on the basis of the discussion of the action plan prepared by the seminar participants and the work to be performed at each stage of the project were determined.