On August 18, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as part of the state visit to Saudi Arabia, met with the President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Muhammad bin Suleiman Al Jasseer.
According to the presidential press service, the parties explored the ways to further expand cooperation and adopted a separate program, providing for the bank's approval by the end of the year of funding for major projects and programs worth of $1.6 billion. As noted, this would be an important step towards upgrading relations with the IsDB to a new level and adopting a country cooperation program for 2023-2026.
In addition, the sides noted importance of the earliest organization of the activities of a full-fledged representative office of the bank in Tashkent, the introduction of new financing instruments.
They expressed was that the Economic Empowerment Fund of Uzbekistan will be able to make an important contribution to solving the problems of reducing poverty, improving the welfare of the population, and developing entrepreneurship, especially among women and youth.
An exchange of views also took place on issues of cooperation in the implementation of important regional transport infrastructure projects, environmental programs in the Aral Sea region, as well as the provision of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan and its socio-economic reconstruction with the support of a separate IDB trust fund.
An agreement was reached to consider the timing of the next meeting of the Arab coordination group in Tashkent, headed by the bank and including the leading financial institutions of the Islamic world.
