Werner Liepach, Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Director General for Central and West Asia Department, visited Uzbekistan from 7 to 11 February.
Within the framework of his visit, Mr. Liepach met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Djamshid Kuchkarov, Deputy Prime Minister Elyor Ganiev, Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov, and Minister of Energy Alisher Sultanov.
ADB representative, during the meetings with government officials, highly appreciated ongoing reforms in the country and reaffirmed ADB’s further support to the government’s priorities. He noted ADB’s role as Uzbekistan’s largest development partner, and focused on cooperation in public-private partnerships, energy, transport, agriculture, and improving the public procurement system.
Mr. Liepach welcomed the recent establishment of the Uzbekistan agency for public-private partnerships and mentioned ADB’s continued advisory support to the newly established and existing institutions. He also discussed ADB’s priority projects in Uzbekistan for 2019, forthcoming country partnership strategy, and implementation of ongoing projects and programs.
Asian Development Bank is preparing a Country Partnership Strategy (CPS), 2019–2023, for Uzbekistan to support country’s transition to a vibrant market economy with the concomitant transformation of the state role in the economy. Indicative strategic areas of the CPS are reforms for private sector development, equitable development of regions, and regional cooperation and integration.
The bank plans to mobilize over US$1 billion annually in the next three years to improve water supply and sanitation, transport infrastructure, energy generation and distribution, and youth employment; to create jobs in rural areas; to broaden access to modern healthcare; and to support the government’s reform program in economic management.
Werner Liepach visited ADB-supported projects in Jizzakh and Tashkent provinces and met with project beneficiaries that received financing for affordable rural housing and for horticulture provided by ADB through local commercial banks. Mr. Liepach noted that the housing project helps many low-income families in rural areas to improve their living conditions and livelihoods, while serving as a catalyst for job creation and private sector development. Horticulture producers along with access to long-term finance, have an opportunity now to improve their business skills, access information on market and technology, and generate stable incomes for themselves, their employees and suppliers.
He also assessed the advanced electricity metering system in Jizzakh city, where he visited a prvincincial electricity metering data center and saw the installation of meters. The project will eliminate commercial losses and increase energy efficiency by introduction of modern, accurate, theft-proof digital meters for over 1 million power users in Bukhara, Jizzakh and Samarkand.
