Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov held negotiations with Vice President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Shixin Chen.

The status of projects under implementation and development, as well as issues related to the deepening of bilateral cooperation were discussed.

An agreement was reached under which ADB will help introduce new tools for financing and attracting private investments for infrastructure projects in Uzbekistan.

Cooperation will also be established to disseminate successful experience of implementing public-private partnership mechanisms in the field of renewable energy sources into other priority areas: healthcare, education, solid waste management and housing and communal services.

Special attention was paid to the issues of establishing cooperation with the Agency for Strategic Development under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Agency for International Cooperation and Development under the Ministry of Investmentы and Foreign Trade, bearing in mind the allocation of grant funds by ADB to provide technical and consultancy assistance to the activities of these structures.

The ADB management also expressed readiness to consider the possibility of attracting financing for environmental and climate projects in the Aral Sea region within the framework of the UN General Assembly resolution on declaring the Aral Sea region a “zone of environmental innovations and technologies”.

At the end of the meeting, further steps were outlined to solve the tasks set within the framework of the areas of cooperation discussed.