On September 25, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the inaugural session of the Ninth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, in Samarkand.

The summit’s main theme is “Building Resilient Infrastructure for All”. The agenda included current issues of the global economy and finance, strategic programs, and plans for infrastructure development in Asia and other regions of the world.

The President of Uzbekistan addressed the event.

“The Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is being held for the first time in our region. We believe that the choice of Uzbekistan for this prestigious conference is a good example of our cooperation based on mutual respect and trust” Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.

The Leader of Uzbekistan stressed that the complex geopolitical situation, global economic instability, food and energy resources scarcity, poverty, and environmental problems are becoming increasingly acute.

A quarter of the world’s population faces the problem of clean drinking water, and about 800 million people live in extreme poverty.

Due to growing conflicts in different regions, traditional logistics routes are entirely changing. Disruptions in the supply chains are driving up the prices of raw materials and consumer goods. 

All this will dramatically increase the pressure on the existing infrastructure and become a major obstacle to global economic growth.

By 2030, the world needs to invest $15 trillion in new infrastructure. At the same time, the flow of foreign investments has been decreasing by 10 percent for the past two years, and the world’s financial resources have become almost two times more expensive. 

In such conditions, the role of international financial organizations is increasing.

It is worth noting that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has become one of the most influential financial organizations not only in the region but also in the world, with a $55 billion portfolio of projects.

The Head of state focused on the course of irreversible reforms and transformations in New Uzbekistan. 

It was noted that special attention is being paid to liberalizing the economy and raising the standard of living and income of the population. Priority areas of interaction with international financial institutions, including the AIIB, were identified to achieve these goals.

First, it is about implementing a “multidimensional” poverty reduction program, which includes expanding access to quality education and medical services, improving housing conditions, strengthening social protection, and building infrastructure networks in the most challenging areas.

Identifying projects for the development of human capital as a promising area of ​​cooperation was proposed. 

Considering the main theme of the Forum, the Head of state particularly focused on the extensive experience of cooperation with international financial organizations in creating sustainable infrastructure.

Uzbekistan has adopted a program to implement public-private partnership projects worth $30 billion by 2030. 

In particular, projects for the construction of toll roads along the routes “Tashkent – Samarkand” and “Tashkent – Andijan”, and the construction of a new railroad for high-speed trains along the routes “Tashkent – Samarkand”, “Samarkand – Navoi – Bukhara” will be implemented. The modernization of 6 international airports in the country will be carried out via public-private partnership.

It was noted that cooperation has begun with the AIIB on developing medium-sized cities and improving infrastructure in rural areas.

Another priority area is the accelerated development of the green economy. Uzbekistan has set a grand goal of achieving 40% green energy by 2030. 

Plans for the coming years include the construction of solar, wind, and hydroelectric power plants, infrastructure facilities, and networks.

It is also envisaged to create large green data centers. In addition, a market for green certificates will be formed due to renewable energy sources.

The Head of state noted the excellent work aimed at turning Central Asia into a major exporter of green energy. One example is the construction of the Trans-Caspian energy bridge.

Implementing a Programme for the Development of Green Energy in Central Asia, led by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, was proposed.

There is an increasing demand for implementing large infrastructure projects in the region. 

The construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which is currently underway, is a vivid example of such a significant regional infrastructure project.

The issues of food security and water scarcity are becoming particularly acute in Central Asia. 

The Leader of Uzbekistan proposed establishing a Regional Centre in collaboration with the AIIB to promote the widespread introduction of water-saving technologies. 

The President noted that Uzbekistan highly appreciates the contribution of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Today projects worth $3 billion are being implemented with the Bank in infrastructure, energy, transport, water supply, and sustainable development. An agreement was reached to implement projects worth $4 billion.

“In the next two days, the Bank’s managers will address responsible tasks such as finding solutions to important global and regional problems based on modern approaches and discussing new projects and programs. Your decisions will directly affect the daily lives of more than 6 billion people living in the Bank’s member states”, Shavkat Mirziyoyev noted in conclusion and wished success in the summit’s work.

UzA