Tashkent, Uzbekistan, 21.04.2013 – At a meeting at the presidential palace in Tashkent last week, H.E. Islom Abdulghaniyevich Karimov, President of Uzbekistan commended the role of the IDB Group in promoting socio-economic development in member countries. Welcoming the IDB Group Chairman, Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali on the occasion, the Uzbek President praised the existing level of cooperation between the IDB Group and the Republic of Uzbekistan and acknowledged the significant contributions the IDB
Group has made to support development plans and programs in Uzbekistan. The meeting focused on discussing ways for upgrading regional cooperation amongst IDB member countries in Central Asia.
The IDB Group Chairman mentioned that his institution was happy to play its role in rural and urban development in the country in the wake of Uzbekistan’s reform program aimed at raising social and economic infrastructure as well as creating a sustainable impact in the living standards of the people. He signed a US$ 36 million financing agreement for the Tashkent out-door lighting project with H.E. Mr. Elyor Ganıev, IDB Governor and Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade
of Uzbekistan. The project is expected to introduce advanced technology and reduce energy consumption to one fifth thereby saving 11 million cubic meters of natural gas per year.
During the visit, Dr. Ali conferred with the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, H.E. Rustam Azimov and a number of other high-ranking officials and addressed an international conference on modern rural housing which was inaugurated by President Islom Karimov. In his speech, Dr. Ali described the event as a strong testimony to the willingness and commitment of Uzbekistan to further improvement of living standards, providing job opportunities for the country’s rural population as
well as upgrading rural infrastructure.
Since Uzbekistan joined the IDB in September 2003, the latter has approved more than US$ one billion in financing for the country in the fields of education, health, agriculture, power and support of the private sector. Also, the ongoing cooperation and coordination between the IDB Group and the Coordination Group (including the Kuwaiti Fund for Development, the Saudi Fund for Development, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND), the OPEC Fund for
International Development, in addition to the Islamic Development Bank Group) has resulted in funding several important development projects in Uzbekistan at a total cost of about US$ one billion.