Baku, Azerbaijan, March 4
By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:
The Russian billionaire, a native of the Namangan region (Uzbekistan), Alisher Usmanov, donated $50 million to the region under the “Comfortable Village” program, Trend reports with reference to Uzbek president.
The head of state also said that the Alisher Usmanov Educational Youth Center will open in Namangan.
“Alisher Usmanov will open business center and business school in Namangan where entrepreneurs will be trained. Foreign specialists will be involved as well,” the president said.
Usmanov himself in an interview with Forbes said that by the end of 2019, $300-$400 million are planned to be invested in social projects in Uzbekistan. Investments in the development of villages, as part of a joint program with the World Bank, will amount to $100 million. The same amount will be spent on “sports and investment project”. Another $100 million Usmanov invested in the Islamic center in Tashkent (he also gave the center a collection of rare books worth $8 million).
Last year, a branch of the Russian Research Technological Institute that was created with Usmanov’s help, opened in Almalyk. The billionaire also spoke about the allocation of funds for the training of Uzbek students in Russia.
“We put a certain amount in the endowment In order for the Uzbek youngsters to study in Moscow. The amounts are quite small 100–200 million rubles but this is only the beginning. I myself want to put funds in there, for students from Uzbekistan,” he said.
At the same time, he positively assessed the actions of Uzbek leadership, noting the improvement of relations with neighbors.
Alisher Usmanov, founder of USM Holdings, ranks 10th on the list of Russia's richest businessmen, according to Forbes. His fortune is estimated at $12.5 billion.
---
Follow author on Twitter:@vakilovfaxri