Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 18 August 2022— The port city of Jeddah, the international economic hub in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, hosted a meeting between visiting President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, H.E. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) President and Group Chairman, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser.

At the meeting, H.E. President Mirziyoyev stated that his government has implemented comprehensive reforms with the goals of enhancing the environment for business and investment, bolstering regional cooperation, modifying the agricultural sector, and fostering innovation and entrepreneurialism to achieve our strategy “Dignity of People” by 2026.

IsDB President, Dr. Al Jasser, meanwhile, expressed profound gratitude to President Mirziyoyev and the Government of Uzbekistan for the very productive relation and continued support to the IsDB Group.

The IsDB President then enumerated the Bank's current portfolio, which spans multiple sectors that are fully aligned with Uzbekistan's development priorities and needs. The Bank supports rural development and access to affordable rural housing, the agriculture sector, the reconstruction of water supply and sewage facilities, the health, education, and transportation sectors, and the energy sector.

He underscored IsDB Group’s keenness to strengthen the cooperation between the Bank and the Government of Uzbekistan.

The two leaders also exchanged views on Uzbekistan’s National Development Strategy (2026) and agreed on the need to see IsDB’s Member Country Partnership Strategy aligned with the national document; a task which according to IsDB President will be processed on a priority basis.

They also concurred on the need to facilitate the joining of more co-financiers to be involved in financing larger projects in view of increasing impact through various mechanisms such as the Arab Coordination Group.

The IsDB President also reaffirmed IsDB Group's commitment to supporting the development endeavors of Uzbekistan as reflected in the country’s National Development Strategy (2026) through cooperation and co-financing of projects with the Arab Coordination Group (ACG) and other Multilateral Development Banks and mobilizing resources using Private Public Partnership (PPP) financing modalities.

Also featuring at the discussions were a number of regional development topics including the role of the Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund, managed by the IsDB to support the Afghan population in this difficult time.

The meeting also saw the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) between IsDB President, Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, and Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade, Mr. Jamshid Khodjaev.

The signing of the document indicates the two sides’ commitment to provide a framework for facilitating cooperation between the Parties and enhancing expeditious processing and approval of projects and operations that are part of the IsDB Group Work Program for Uzbekistan in 2022.

Since its inception, IsDB Group has approved over US$2.6 billion of financing for Uzbekistan. This includes US$1,867 million in project financing by IsDB, US$425 million approved by ICD, US$298 million for trade operations by ITFC, and US$13 million by other IsDB Group funds and operations. In addition, ICIEC has provided US$382 million as business insured and US$ 427 million as new insurance commitments.