On May 27, a high-level international forum "Transformation and privatization of state-owned enterprises: a new stage of economic reforms" was held in Tashkent.

It is organized by the State Assets Management Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan (UzSAMA) and the World Bank. The goal is to discuss ongoing reforms, assess the state of affairs and tasks for the future. The participants are formed from the heads of the Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction, the Ministry of Finance, UzSAMA, representatives of the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, UNDP, as well as state enterprises, private sector and civil society.

Head of the World Bank Office in Uzbekistan Marco Mantovanelli and Vice President of the World Bank for Europe and Central Asia Anna Bjerde greeted the delegates. 

The forum's program was opened by Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Jamshid Kuchkarov.

Director of the State Assets Management Agency Akmalkhon Ortikov, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Adham Ikramov and WB Regional Director for China Martin Raiser presented key reports on the strategy of management and SOEs reform for 2021-2025, as well as on the transformational effect of their privatization.

Finance Minister Timur Ishmetov during his report considered the work ongoing in this direction:

- A number of systemic problems in the management of large enterprises with the participation of the state have been identified. Among them - a lack of coordination and a systematic approach to the related development of industries and diversification of the economy, excessive administrative regulation, lack of a healthy competitive environment, slow development due to high wear and tear of equipment and an unstable financial situation, insufficient implementation of automated systems along with modern information and communication technologies.

These factors impede the effective implementation of the planned reforms and the accelerated innovative development of the country. A number of measures implemented to improve the situation. The list of the large state-owned enterprises to be transformed have been identified. The participants discussed the role of SOEs in the development of the domestic economy, success factors and problems; furthermore, they also got acquainted with the approaches of foreign countries. Following the discussions, the next steps in this direction were outlined.

Source: Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan