Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Kuchkarov met with the President of the Asian Bank for Infrastructure Investment (ABII) Jin Litsun at the Ministry of Finance.

At the beginning of the meeting, Mr. Litsun was informed about the progress in implementing economic reforms in the framework of five priority areas for the development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the period 2017-2021. Particular attention was paid to the development of infrastructure, the reform of the energy sector, the tax code and the development of a “Road Development Strategy” with the support of ADB and WB, for the development of intercontinental transport corridors.

Asian Bank for Infrastructure Investment is an international financial institution established in 2014 to improve the economic integration of the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as stimulate financial cooperation and finance infrastructure projects. Uzbekistan has been a member of the ABII since its inception.

Today, the portfolio of cooperation between our country and the bank includes the following areas:

• infrastructure development;
• environmental protection in the region;
• regional cooperation and integration;
• development of the financial sector.

“Uzbekistan is one of our priority partners in Central Asia, and we are ready to make every effort for long-term cooperation on mutually beneficial conditions. We intend to pay special attention to financing infrastructure projects, while Bank financing will be allocated for 30 years, the private sector for 20 years,” Jin Litsun said.

As part of the financing of projects, J. Litsun also noted the following priority areas of the Bank, such as the development of the social sphere: provision of drinking water to rural areas, reconstruction of roads, improvement of heating systems, development of the energy sector: modernization of main electric routes, to reduce losses, and increasing the potential of renewable sources in the country, such as the generation of solar and wind energy.

During the negotiations, the parties discussed the current state and prospects of joint projects, and by 2023 a number of promising projects worth more than $ 1 billion are being worked out, as part of the Bank’s priority areas.

In order to strengthen cooperation between the Bank and the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and prioritize projects, J. Litsun proposed to conduct a diagnosis of the country and, on the basis of this, develop a joint “Road Map” that would be responsible for ensuring the full implementation of projects and financing of priority projects and programs for the Uzbek side.