The first Uzbekistan Country Platform Roundtable of the year convened today, reaffirming the joint commitment of the government and international partners to advance the implementation of the Uzbekistan 2030 Strategy.

At the event organized by the Strategic Reforms Agency under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan in collaboration with the European Union delegation in Uzbekistan, over 90 representatives reviewed the progress towards green growth and public finance management (PFM). They discussed an assessment of agriculture subsidies, highlighting the urgency of reforms for Uzbekistan citizens and businesses. 

The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection, and Climate Change underlined the government’s commitment to advancing reforms for sustaining economic growth. The government recognizes the impact of the rapid growth on the natural resources and public health, with air pollution being the primary concern. The roundtable participants reviewed the progress on the actions taken on green growth so far, while identifying priorities that still require more attention, especially during this year, i.e., the Year of Environmental Protection and a Green Economy. 

The Ministry of Economy and Finance also emphasized the critical role of fiscal transparency, performance-based budgeting, and public investment management in advancing green economic growth.

The Ministry informed on the ongoing work towards developing the new draft Strategy for Improving PFM in Uzbekistan for 2025-2030, with priority actions to be taken on digitalization of the budget process, environmental and gender budgeting. On behalf of other relevant international partners, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided information on the significant international support for these directions and for strengthening the overall PFM framework. 

The Delegation of the European Union to Uzbekistan presented the results of a study of the agricultural subsidy system in Uzbekistan, which was jointly carried out with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The results will help the government to have informed discussions as to how subsidies can be used to steer agricultural reforms, their impact on the state budget, and the implications for Uzbekistan’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). 

Ambassador of the European Union to Uzbekistan, Toivo Klaar, highlighted that the assessment shows that “Uzbekistan needs a more strategic approach to agricultural subsidies, to ensure that these are effective in driving reforms and efficient implementation. The aim should be to have these subsidies directly contribute to developing a market-driven, internationally competitive, diverse, environmentally friendly, climate-resilient and socially inclusive agri-food sector”.

As the discussions concluded, Abdulla Abdukadirov, First Deputy of the Agency for Strategic Reforms under the President, emphasized “Main aim of the Country Platform is to maintain the dialogue on reforms and coordination of all activities of foreign official development partners, including international financial institutions, working in the country to facilitate the implementation of the economic and social policy, targeted by the President. To achieve this aim successfully, the Country Platform needs better administrative support from the government’s side. We need to make clearer the role, both in terms of responsibilities and rights, of the Board, Working Groups, and the Secretariat of the Country Platform. Thus, ASR is working on the draft Special Presidential Decree to address these issues”.

[gallery-21939]

Nasiba Ziyodullayeva, photos by Nosirjon Khaydarov, UzA