Uzbek president, ADB head discuss cooperation, projects through 2030
TASHKENT. May 4 (Interfax) - Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has met with an Asian Development Bank (ADB) delegation led by the bank's President Masato Kanda, Mirziyoyev's press service said in a statement on Sunday.
Opening the meeting, Kanda thanked Mirziyoyev for his support and assistance in organizing and holding the 59th Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on May 3-6.
"During the meeting, the sides discussed practical aspects of expanding full-scale mutually beneficial cooperation between Uzbekistan and the Asian Development Bank," the statement said.
Noting the high level of bilateral ties, the sides said that ADB has become a strategic partner for Uzbekistan since their cooperation was launched 30 years ago.
The Uzbekistan-ADB aggregate portfolio of projects stands at around $16 billion, making Uzbekistan one of the bank's largest partners in the region by volume of transactions, they said.
Projects to modernize railway and road infrastructure, the energy system and social infrastructure, upgrade the water supply and sewage systems and develop agriculture and the private sector are underway in Uzbekistan, the statement said.
Mirziyoyev and Kanda reaffirmed the importance of timely and effective implementation of projects worth $12.5 billion as part of the new partnership program through 2030, which was signed on the sidelines of the summit.
An agreement was reached on advancing cooperation in areas such as support for the mortgage market and the private sector, development of youth and female entrepreneurship, poverty reduction, inclusive education reforms and human capital development, adoption of digital technologies, and infrastructure modernization in special economic zones.
Emphasis was also placed on large infrastructure projects underway in Central Asia, including those benefiting from ADB's stronger role in mobilizing financial resources.
A ceremony to exchange the Uzbekistan-ADB partnership program through 2030 took place at the end of the talks.
