On January 18, Minister of Finance Timur Ishmetov met with representatives of the World Bank (WB) - WB's regional director for Central Asia Lilia Burunchuk, head of the WB's office in Uzbekistan Marco Mantovanelli and senior economist of the WB in Uzbekistan Vinayak Nagaraj.

The government's plans for economic development for 2021 were considered, including the next stage of reforms aimed at creating conditions for further growth of the private sector, attracting private investment, as well as the implementation of projects with public funding in the short and medium term. Prospects for assisting the government in these areas were discussed within the framework of the partnership program currently being developed between the country and the World Bank in 2022-2026.

The parties exchanged views on possible areas of cooperation within the framework of the above-mentioned program, including the assistance of the World Bank in the implementation of further reforms in agriculture, the aviation sector and the chemical industry.

The World Bank's intentions were reaffirmed to provide further assistance in modernizing the agri-food sector, transforming and privatizing state-owned enterprises and banks, and developing the telecommunications sector.

The participants of the meeting discussed governmental measures to mitigate the socio-economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. The need to continue reforms in agriculture, in the management of state-owned enterprises, the banking sector and other priority sectors was noted, despite the difficulties for the country as a result of the pandemic. It was emphasized that the previously implemented reforms help Uzbekistan to cope with the economic crisis more effectively.

Representatives of the World Bank expressed their readiness to continue providing further financial and technical assistance to the government in the implementation of important socio-economic changes in Uzbekistan.

Source: Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan