Uzbekistan

Thirty years after the end of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan embarked on major reforms to open its economy to the global market, while protecting the most vulnerable households and strengthening the rule of law.

Signed in 2018 and then reinforced in 2019, a policy-based loan made in cofinancing with the Asian Development Bank affirms AFD’s support to the Uzbek government to initiate these economic and financial governance reforms and support it in its economic and social transformation over the long term.

These reforms relate in particular to improving the publication of economic data, strengthening public finance management, modernizing banking supervision and the governance of public enterprises. French experts also come to share their know-how in the management of public finances, public contracts and public enterprises.

With nearly 34 million inhabitants, Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia. Its cities are growing, stimulated by the  emigration of inhabitants from rural areas. Faced with this challenge, the authorities wish to develop urban services, both in the largest cities to improve living conditions and in secondary cities to make them more attractive.

AFD supports the cities of Uzbekistan in the areas of waste and water. In particular, we support the city of Samarkand in its ambition to modernize solid waste management, by strengthening local capacities and setting up new equipment for the collection, treatment and recovery of this waste. We are also financing the installation and modernization of sanitation systems in three medium-sized cities (Karmana, Kitob and Shakhrisabz), through the construction of purification stations and the installation of collectors, associated with an important capacity building component local

Ensuring green and sustainable growth requires in particular a transition to clean energies, in order to limit greenhouse gas emissions. In Uzbekistan, the second largest electricity producer in Central Asia, the development of clean and renewable energies is today a priority for the Uzbek government, included in the country’s development strategy and confirmed by the ratification of the Paris Agreements in 2018.

AFD is supporting an Uzbek hydropower development project, via a program to secure and modernize the Charvak dam, near Tashkent, and to extend hydroelectric facilities in the Andijan region, associated with assistance technical. A policy-based loan encourages the implementation of reforms in the electricity sector for a low-carbon economy.

The growth trajectory of the Uzbek economy must take into account the issues of land management and protection of the country’s natural resources. Aiming at developing the agricultural sector and rural areas, AFD works alongside the Ministry of Livestock and Uzbek institutions active in the livestock sector, such as commercial banks and producer associations. The objective is to promote the development of sustainable animal production chains, integrating small producers
and mobilizing climate-beneficial investment instruments.