Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 13 November, the Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov met with the President of the Asian Development Bank Takehiko Nakao, during which the current state and prospects for further strengthening cooperation were discussed.

During the dialogue, the Bank’s role in providing support to developing countries in Asia was emphasized, and in particular the extent of its presence in Uzbekistan - ADB has been and remains a strategic partner involved in the implementation of major industrial, infrastructure and social development programs.

Mr Nakao, in turn, said that the processes of accelerated transformation of Uzbekistan offer great opportunities both for the development of the country itself and for strengthening its position in the economic field of the region and welcomed the systematization of cooperation enshrined in the Country Partnership Strategy for 2019-2023. At the same time, he emphasized that the mandatory factors of sustainable development are macroeconomic stability, the availability of infrastructure and qualified personnel.

The measures taken by the President of Uzbekistan to improve the activities of state bodies with the aim of weakening the role of the state in regulating economic processes and creating favorable conditions for the development of the private sector were also highly appreciated - a similar practice has successfully proved itself in a number of countries in South Asia.

Speaking about the long-term prospects of relations with Uzbekistan, the ADB President expressed his readiness to continue and expand the range of mutual interests in order to support the economic transformation in the country on an integrated basis by providing additional investment resources.

At the same time, it was noted that the priority areas of the partnership - agriculture, health, education, water management and the financial sector do not currently cover the existing potential, and therefore a proposal was voiced to consider the possibility of implementing new joint projects.

In addition to projects in the field of economic regulation and the development of the mortgage market in the amount of US$500 million, which are expected to be approved before the end of this year, new directions for further portfolio expansion were separately considered and practical measures were discussed within the framework of the approved cooperation programs.

Also within the framework of the meeting, a presentation was made on the investment and industrial potential of the energy sector, reforms being carried out in this area and ongoing projects aimed at diversifying energy sources and introducing innovative technologies, which will allow for the long-term sustainable development of the sector.