ADB Launches New 5-Year Partnership Strategy for Uzbekistan

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (27 August 2024) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a new country partnership strategy for Uzbekistan covering 2024–2028 that will support the country’s reforms to transform into a green and inclusive economy.

Under the new 5-year strategy, ADB will work closely with the Government of Uzbekistan to facilitate the central Asian nation’s transition to a green economy, support private sector development and competitiveness, and promote investments in human capital. The strategy is aligned with the government’s priorities in its own long-term development plan, known as “Uzbekistan-2030”.

“ADB’s new partnership strategy for Uzbekistan will support the country in achieving its strategic goals in transitioning to a green economy by 2030”, said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Eugene Zhukov. “As a long-term trusted partner of Uzbekistan, ADB remains committed to helping the country sustain its robust economic expansion and reduce poverty even amid external global and regional shocks.”

The new strategy envisages ADB interventions in a range of sectors including energy, public sector management and governance, finance, transport, agriculture and natural resource management, and urban development. The bank will also support development in education and social protection.

“ADB will mobilize its sovereign and private sector operations in the country along with policy dialogue and innovative solutions to achieve the strategic goals of the new partnership”, said ADB Country Director for Uzbekistan Kanokpan Lao-Araya.

To support enabling conditions for an expanded role of the private sector in the economy, ADB will strengthen macroeconomic and fiscal reforms, and the transformation and preparation of state-owned enterprises for privatization. The bank will support private sector engagement in economic development, including via improvements to the domestic financial markets and infrastructure investments. ADB will also scale up its support to the private sector through direct nonsovereign financing and through public-private partnerships.

In pursuing Uzbekistan’s targets of human capital development by 2030, ADB support will focus on improving the quality, inclusivity, and relevance of education and skills development across the nation, enhancing access to health and social services including by encouraging greater private sector participation, and strengthening social protection for the most vulnerable.

In line with its strategic shift towards private sector operations, ADB will expand its cofinancing partnerships and dialogue with domestic and international companies, investors, and business associations. ADB will also continue its fruitful partnerships with civil society organizations in combatting climate change, investing in people, advocating for gender equality, and supporting vulnerable groups.

Uzbekistan joined ADB in 1995, and the bank has committed loans, grants, and technical assistance amounting to $12.5 billion to the country.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.