The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the government of Uzbekistan have agreed to deepen their long-term strategic cooperation, helping to establish a competitive, resilient, green and well-governed private sector and supporting the preparation and implementation of public-sector projects, according to the EBRD.
The enhanced partnership framework agreement (EPFA) between the two parties will promote economic development in Uzbekistan through investment instruments, grants, technical assistance and policy dialogue.
The parties will also give assistance to domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Uzbekistan through a separate cooperation agreement providing for technical cooperation and advisory support. The government of Uzbekistan will commit up to US$ 20 million of grant funding for this purpose, which will be supported by additional funding from the EBRD.
To date, the EBRD has invested almost US$ 6.9 billion (€6 billion) in Uzbekistan through 210 projects, with most of the funds supporting private entrepreneurship. The country has been the leading recipient of EBRD funding in Central Asia in each of the past six years.
The EBRD has also announced that it is improving the efficiency of rail transportation in Uzbekistan and facilitating more fluid cargo and passenger traffic flows along the Trans-Caspian Corridor by supporting the digital transformation of O‘zbekiston temir yo‘llari (Uzbekistan Railways, or UTY), the country’s national rail operator.
In its first such public-sector project in Uzbekistan, the Bank will lend up to €38.4 million to UTY – which owns and operates the country’s 6,950 km railway network and is responsible for up to 40 per cent of national freight – to help it introduce software for traffic and transportation management, as well as upgraded cybersecurity systems.
This digital transformation program will help to set new industry standards, support the safety and reliability of UTY’s operations, and promote cost efficiency. The planned cybersecurity measures will be aligned with international best practice.
The project will help to address inefficiencies in UTY’s traffic and transport management operations by replacing manual processes with modern digital systems such as dispatching, scheduling, and operational control.
