MILAN, Italy, May 5. Uzbekistan expects enhanced support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in improving connectivity in Central Asia, First Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan Ilkhom Norkulov said, addressing the business session of ADB Governors, Trend’s special correspondent reports from Milan.
“ADB remains one of our most valued and largest development partners. Over the past five years, ADB has committed more than $5.4 billion to support our national development priorities. We have also benefited tremendously from ADB's technical assistance across multiple areas, including SME development, green transition, and capacity building, as we work together to prepare and implement reform programs,” he said.
Norkulov noted that guided by the country's partnership strategy for 2024-2028, ADB continues to work closely with the government of Uzbekistan and other key stakeholders in a shared vision of transforming Uzbekistan into a more resilient, inclusive, and green economy.
“Looking ahead, we remain optimistic about our economic future. For 2025-2026, we anticipate maintaining an economic growth at a rate of at least 6%. However, we now face new challenges and uncertainties in the global economic landscape.
In this context, strengthening regional and cross-border
partnership is becoming increasingly crucial. The facts speak for
themselves. Trade with Central Asian countries has grown by 2.5
times during 2017 and 2024, increasing from 3.3 billion to 8.1
billion. This demonstrates growing economic predictability and
trust within the region and beyond. We aim to maintain this
momentum by expanding cooperation with Central Asia and Caucasus.
In this regard, we seek enhanced ADB support in several key
areas.
First, in improving regional connectivity, jointly combating
climate change, and optimizing water resource management. The ADB
can support these efforts through capacity building and regional
projects. Second, by simplifying project procedures and utilizing
local systems for procurement,” he said.
Norkulov noted that following a positive assessment by the World Bank, Uzbekistan’s project procurement timeline has been reduced from 4 to 6 months to just 10 days.
“With our growing institutional capacity, we believe now is the ideal time for ADB to adopt similar approach to accelerate project implementation. Third, we welcome the ADB's ongoing institutional transformation and encourage further decentralization of expertise to regional hubs, particularly for rapid response to technical assistance requests and climate action, water management, and connectivity.
Despite global economic uncertainty, Central Asia stands out as a region of robust growth and resilience. This collective foreign trade turnover reaching almost $95 billion in 2024. To sustain this positive trajectory, we look forward to enhanced ADB support in strengthening regional economic ties and sustainable development,” he added.