Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 31 January this year, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov held talks via videoconference with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Odile Renaud-Basso.

During the negotiations, the current state and promising directions for deepening mutually beneficial cooperation between Uzbekistan and the EBRD were discussed, bearing in mind the implementation of new projects aimed at stimulating socio-economic development and supporting the private sector in the country.

It was noted that for the second year in a row Uzbekistan has become the Bank’s largest partner in the Central Asian region in terms of funds raised: in 2021 alone, the EBRD invested about US$700 million in the country as part of the implementation of 22 investment projects in the areas of alternative energy, infrastructure development and support for small and medium business. At the same time, following the results of the past year, Uzbekistan entered the “top 5 countries in terms of EBRD investments.

As of today, the portfolio of projects supported by the EBRD includes 11 projects worth EUR 838 million. Measures to accelerate the implementation of these projects were discussed, and expected results were outlined with reference to specific deadlines.

The Uzbek side welcomed the development of cooperation between the EBRD and private companies and commercial banks in Uzbekistan. Since the beginning of cooperation, the EBRD has invested more than 2.8 billion euros in 106 projects, with 48 percent of the investment portfolio being projects to support the private sector, and the total amount of financing provided by the country's commercial banks in the form of credit lines for small and medium-sized businesses, is US$450 million.

During the dialogue, the parties also discussed further steps to deepen cooperation in priority areas, including technical assistance in the privatization of state-owned enterprises and banks, cooperation in developing new mechanisms for improving the investment climate, increasing the investment attractiveness of the public utilities and infrastructure development, including through the introduction blended finance instruments, development of the financial market and support for domestic exports.

Special attention was paid to the possibilities of cooperation in developing a strategy for the industrial development of Uzbekistan, which will include tools to attract investment and advanced technologies, as well as the introduction of market mechanisms in priority sectors of the country's economy. An agreement was reached on joint work in this area of cooperation and the development of specific proposals.

They also discussed the prospects for increasing the financial and advisory support of the EBRD in promoting the "green" economy, meaning the implementation of projects to introduce energy efficient technologies, combat the effects of climate change and protect the environment. In particular, the initiative to create a Center for Green Projects in Uzbekistan was considered, which will allow uniting the efforts of development partners and private investors to promote green technologies and the transition to a green economy.

A significant place on the agenda of the talks was given to measures to ensure gender equality, empower women and increase their participation in business activities. Separately, ways were discussed to further expand the program "Women in Business", aimed at supporting the development of women's entrepreneurship in the country.

In addition, other issues were discussed, including the prospects for opening new offices of the Bank in the regions of Uzbekistan, preparations for the Annual Meeting of the EBRD Board of Governors in 2023 in Samarkand, as well as the participation of the Bank's management in the work of the Tashkent International Investment Forum, which scheduled for March this year.

Following the talks, the parties expressed mutual commitment to the further development and expansion of partnership.