Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- As part of the visit of the government delegation of Uzbekistan to Seoul, a meeting was held between the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov and the Chairman of the Eximbank of Korea Bang Moon-kyu.

The meeting was dedicated to discussing the dynamics of the implementation of joint projects, as well as prospects for expanding the Bank's project portfolio in Uzbekistan.

A total of 17 joint projects worth US$2.1 billion were implemented in Uzbekistan at the expense of the Bank. At the same time, accelerated growth in project financing volumes is observed mainly in the period 2017-2020.

The management of the Bank announced that in spite of the current epidemiological situation and its impact on the global economy, every effort will be made to minimize negative economic factors on the pace of implementation of projects in Uzbekistan.

A substantive and constructive dialogue allowed to cover a wide range of questions and suggestions. The parties agreed to intensify their joint work to accelerate the signing of loan agreements for a number of projects already approved by the Bank in 2019.

Moreover, it was agreed that the preparation of feasibility studies, the selection of consultants and contractors will be accelerated in order to begin construction work on projects under implementation, including the creation of the Tashkent Pharma Park pharmaceutical cluster, a multidisciplinary medical center for adults, oncology clinic, medical university and the center of chemical technology.

The Korean side also expressed interest in further expanding financial and technical cooperation with Uzbekistan, for which a joint elaboration of an agreement between the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade and the EDCF Fund under the Eximbank of Korea on cooperation in the field of economic development for 2021-2023, providing for an increase in the preferential financing from US$500 million to US$1 billion, will be launched.

An understanding has been reached on the prospects of attracting Eximbank of Korea to finance infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan, including through public-private partnerships, for which the Korean side will study the proposed project proposals.

In addition, they discussed the creation of a joint fund to stimulate the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Uzbekistan, the concept of which the parties agreed to work out in the near future.

The Bank’s management will also consider the prospects for deepening cooperation with commercial banks of Uzbekistan by providing additional credit lines in order to increase the volume of financing projects with the participation of entrepreneurs of the two countries.

As a result of the meeting, priority tasks were identified within the framework of the discussed areas for the development of cooperation and a format for further system work was agreed.