BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 17
By Fakhri Vakilov - Trend:
The World Bank approved financing projects in Uzbekistan for a total of $956.6 million in 2019, as was stated at a meeting of Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov with World Bank Vice President Cyril Muller, Trend reports citing the press service of the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade.
The parties discussed issues of bilateral cooperation, the results of joint activities in 2019, the current state of ongoing projects and prospects for expanding cooperation in 2020.
Muller emphasized the results of the reforms achieved by Uzbekistan’s Government and their beneficial effect on economic growth in 2019.
The Vice President of the World Bank also noted a significant increase in exports in the textile, automotive and fruit and vegetable sectors, and as a result, the optimization of the country's trade balance, which, according to him, is a sign of increasing the sustainability of the national economy.
In 2019, the World Bank financed projects in Uzbekistan related to the development of entrepreneurship in the Ferghana Valley ($200 million); institutional capacity building ($33 million); improving the early development of children ($73.8 million); providing budget support ($500 million); strengthening social safety nets ($50 million); the implementation of the project "Prosperous village" ($100 million).
Initiatives implemented with the financial support of the World Bank are of great importance for the socio-economic development of the country. Thus, the implementation of the “Comprehensive development of medium-sized cities” project will allow for a phased transition to a systematic development of cities in Uzbekistan, which is supported by other international financial partner institutions - the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Bank for Infrastructure Investments (AIIB).
In this context, the prospects of interaction with the World Bank were discussed for the joint development of the National Program for the Development of Middle Cities, which implies the introduction of modern approaches to urban development and its financing.
Moreover, the sides also discussed the current state and prospects of foreign trade of Uzbekistan, the steps taken to join the World Trade Organization and the possibilities for cooperation in this direction.
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