President Receives ADB Head, Sides Discuss Relations

On October 31 this year at the Oksaroy Residence in Tashkent the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov received the president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Haruhiko Kuroda, the local newspapers wrote.

While welcoming the guest President has said that Uzbekistan is developing the relations with many large international financial institutions, but the cooperation with the ADB is of a special importance to the country.

“Each occasion of the meeting with you furnishes the fine opportunity to discuss the issues of cooperation,” – President Islam Karimov has said.

The ADB is one of the reliable and active partners of Uzbekistan in undertaking the reforms. The Bank regularly elaborates and consistently implements the strategy and cooperation program with Uzbekistan.

Since 1995, when Uzbekistan joined this financial institution, the ADB has allocated the country the credit worth 875,6 million US dollars. These funds have been channeled to the implementation of 21 projects of strategic importance in the spheres of transport infrastructure, energy, agriculture and municipal economy, small business and private entrepreneurship, as well as general, secondary special and professional education. Besides, as a technical assistance the ADB allocated 62 grants. Their total worth has exceeded 32 million dollars. The ADB secures the top place among the international financial institutions in funding the projects in Uzbekistan.

At the moment, the sides are expected to elaborate and implement 16 priority projects in line with the Financial cooperation program set for three years. For these projects aimed at supplying the population with a drinking water, land improvement, equipment of schools, introduction of information and communication technologies to the educational system, modernization of the transport infrastructure, and support of small business the ADB envisages to allocate the credit worth 510,7 million US dollars.

The cooperation between Uzbekistan and the Asian Development Bank is also developing in the framework of multilateral relations. The leadership of the Bank coordinates the activity of other financial institutions in the sphere of development of regional cooperation in Central Asia in such priority directions as energy, trade and transport infrastructure.

H.Kuroda thanked the President Islam Karimov for the sincere welcome. He has underscored that the annual economic growth of Uzbekistan at the level of 8-9 percent witnesses about the high economic potential of the country.

“ADB accords a profound significance to continuing and consistently developing the cooperation with Uzbekistan,” – the ADB president is reported to have said.