Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev met with European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Vice President for Banking Matteo Patrone to discuss expanding cooperation, preparing new investment projects and implementing joint initiatives.
According to Khodjaev, Uzbekistan’s overall cooperation portfolio with the EBRD has exceeded US$7 billion. The bank remains one of the country’s key partners in supporting economic reforms and developing the private sector.
In 2025, the EBRD invested €880 million in Uzbekistan through 39 projects, making the country the bank’s largest recipient of financing in Central Asia that year.
The meeting addressed ways to expand businesses’ access to financial resources, prepare new investment initiatives and continue reforming the banking sector, including the privatisation of Asakabank.
The sides also discussed mechanisms for jointly preparing and co-financing projects with Uzbekistan’s Fund for Reconstruction and Development. Another topic was the next steps towards launching the ANORA platform, which aims to attract investment into the agri-food sector.
The participation of local companies in EBRD-funded projects was also discussed. Khodjaev said the capabilities of domestic businesses should be considered from the initial stages of project preparation, enabling them to compete for contracts and take part in implementation.
“Our task is to develop this partnership in such a way that mobilising and allocating more than US$1 billion annually becomes a sustainable practice,” the deputy prime minister said.
He stressed that the funds raised should create additional opportunities for businesses, support infrastructure modernisation and improve the quality of life.
