The business program of the first Central Asia-European Union summit began on April 3 with a meeting between the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Odile Renaud-Basso, the press service of the head of state reported .

Aspects of developing cooperation between Uzbekistan and the international financial institution were discussed.

It was noted that the portfolio of joint projects in priority sectors is steadily growing. The bank’s total investments in the economy of Uzbekistan exceeded 5 billion euros, including about 1 billion euros at the end of last year. The bulk of financial support falls on the private sector.

With the expert assistance of the EBRD, the banking sector is being transformed and business opportunities are being expanded.

During the meeting, the results of joint work to improve the quality and increase the efficiency of project implementation were noted. The importance of optimizing procedures and accelerating project preparation was noted.

The focus was on expanding cooperation in such key areas as the development of small and medium-sized businesses, support for women’s and youth entrepreneurship, and the expansion of public-private partnership projects, including in the areas of education, water supply, and waste recycling.

The priorities for cooperation include programs and projects in the areas of green economy, decarbonization, digitalization and artificial intelligence, development of the mortgage market, transportEBRD communications, and others.

An exchange of views also took place on the preparation and holding of the Tashkent International Investment Forum and the next meeting of the Foreign Investors Council in June of this year.