Tashkent, January 27, 2023 – The first plenary session of this year’s “Country Platform” for Uzbekistan was held at the International Business Center. The event was organized by the Agency for Strategic Reforms under the President of Uzbekistan with the assistance of the World Bank. The meeting discussed interaction with donors and development partners in the framework of supporting the government of Uzbekistan in achieving the goals outlined in the New Uzbekistan Development Strategy for 2022-2026.
For information: The “Country Platform” mechanism was presented in October 2019 at the Annual Meetings of the Board of Governors of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. Uzbekistan became one of the 13 pilot countries participating in the approbation of this mechanism, starting in 2020. The purpose of this mechanism is to coordinate the interaction of the governments of these countries with international financial institutions, international organizations, bilateral development partners providing financial and technical assistance in the development and implementation of government programs and projects that contribute to the socio-economic development of the recipient countries.
“The Country Platform” allows Uzbekistan to: 1) ensure rapid mobilization and use of external assistance to address a wide range of socio-economic issues; 2) use a consistent and systematic approach to the design, preparation and implementation of significant socio-economic projects, drawing on the resources and expertise of international development partners; and 3) attract the finance needed for sustainable development in strategic sectors of the economy.
The first meeting of the platform this year (they are organized on a regular basis) was attended by representatives of a number of ministries, departments and executive agencies involved in the implementation of strategic reforms and projects, as well as Uzbekistan’s international development partners providing financial and technical assistance in this process.[1]
The participants of the meeting noted that the main purpose of the “Country Platform” is to assist the government of Uzbekistan in achieving the goals outlined in the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022-2026, including poverty reduction, human capital development, transition to a “green” economy and “green” energy. In general, supporting reforms aimed at sustainable growth of the country’s economy and improving the well-being of the population.
In 2023, the World Bank office in Uzbekistan began to perform the functions of the Secretariat of the ” Country Platform”, by taking them over from the Asian Development Bank. During the meeting, the issues of interaction of development partners with the Secretariat, preparation of the Work Plan of the Country Platform for 2023, as well as the formation of 12 thematic working groups, including their mandate, structure, working methodology, goals and objectives for 2023 were discussed.
Representatives of the concerned ministries, departments, executive agencies, and international partners take part in the work of the aforementioned groups. Each group coordinates financial and technical assistance from donors in specific areas, including: energy and mining, agriculture, transport, health care, education, urban development, water management, water supply and sanitation, reform of state enterprises and banks, public-private partnerships, public finance, “green” economic growth, rule of law and good governance, as well as issues of optimization and facilitation.
During the meeting, the international partners reaffirmed their firm determination to continue providing coordinated, effective, consistent and transparent assistance to Uzbekistan in implementing strategic reforms and projects in the above-mentioned areas.
[1] World Bank and International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group), Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Islamic Development Bank, European Union, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Uzbekistan, UN Development Program, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization, Export-Import Bank of Korea, German Development Bank KfW, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, UK Government, Government of Germany, The U.S. Agency for International Development, the French Development Agency, the Korean International Cooperation Agency, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, the German Society for International Cooperation, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development, etc.