Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 10 May  2023 - The city of Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, played host to the launching of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group Member Country Partnership Strategy (MCPS) for the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The launching ceremony took place, 10 May 2023, on the sidelines of the 2023 IsDB Group Annual Meetings which are taking place under the patronage of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

IsDB President and Group Chairman, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, and Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade, H.E. Mr. Laziz Kudratov who is also IsDB Governor for the country put their signatures to the strategic document.

In his address, H.E. Dr. Al Jasser voiced satisfaction over the level of the cooperation between Uzbekistan and the IsDB Group expressing appreciation to the country’s government for the ongoing thriving partnership.

The IsDB Group MCPS for Uzbekistan is a five-year strategy document (2022-2026) which focusses on two main pillars with three cross-cutting areas:

Pillar 1. Supporting Economic Transformation: The objective of MCPS Pillar 1 is to help Uzbekistan build a green, resilient and sustainable infrastructure that enables enhancing competitiveness, industrial and agricultural diversification of productive capabilities, supporting higher productivity, promoting exports, expanding formal-sector employment and strengthening the role of priority sectors that can generate high value added for the economy. In the implementation of this pillar, the priority shall be given to the supporting of the private sector and promoting the business environment.

Pillar 2. Enhancing Human Capital & Enabling Environment: The objective of MCPS Pillar 2 is to improve is to support the economic transformation of the country by investing in human capital and improving welfare. The focus areas of Pillar 2 include improving access to healthcare and health outcomes, improving access to quality education in line  with the industry requirements, and mainstreaming the applications and use of ICT and digitalization across the board.

The cross-cutting areas include i) integrating perspectives of women and youth, ii) supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation, and iii)  focusing on long-term holistic engagements for capacity development.

Since 2003 when Uzbekistan joined IsDB, the Bank Group has approved a total of US$ 3.464 billion of development financing for Uzbekistan in different sectors including Transport, Energy, Water & Sanitation, Agriculture, Education, Finance, and Health. As of 12 May 2023, the IsDB active portfolio comprises of 70 active operations for a total amount of US$ 1.931 billion.