Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan hosted a meeting with the Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Änjali Kaur.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture – Director General of the National Center for Knowledge and Innovation in Agriculture Alisher Turayev and Advisor to the Minister for Economics, Innovative Development and Investments Alisher Shukurov.

The sides considered issues of further strengthening cooperation between USAID and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan in horticulture, value-added production, and women’s economic empowerment as part of the joint Agribusiness Development project.

Änjali Kaur said: “A key element of USAID's work with the government and the private sector in Uzbekistan is the promotion of women's economic empowerment. Gender equality and the empowerment of women are at the core of our work. The United States has helped women in Uzbekistan start and grow their own horticultural businesses, open new businesses, and expand existing ones. I am thrilled to announce that this summer USAID will provide an additional US$2.4 million to support the work of rural women in Uzbekistan. These funds will be used to support rural women in Uzbekistan, in particular in the Aral Sea region. For women, vocational training will be organized in areas such as business skills, microfinance, mentoring and employment programs.”

In turn, Alisher Turaev, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan - General Director of the National Center for Knowledge and Innovation in Agriculture expressed gratitude for cooperation with USAID and noted that USAID allocates US$2.4 million to develop women's entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector. This is the first time such a large amount has been allocated, and we think that this will serve as a good motivation for the women of Uzbekistan and will help to actively involve them in the development of agriculture. We will make joint efforts to resolve employment issues. At the initiative of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the task was set to reduce poverty in the country, and the eradication of unemployment among women is one of the steps along this path. Today, educational programs are being implemented as part of USAID projects. Thus, cooperation has already been established with the universities of Missouri and Texas, and more than a hundred trainings have been held for thousands of students, farmers and entrepreneurs throughout the country. In addition, grant funds are allocated to start-up entrepreneurs to develop their own business in the food processing and agritourism sectors.