The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has approved a $300 million policy-based loan to help improve economic management in Uzbekistan, which will help support macroeconomic stability and sustain high growth in the country.

“Uzbekistan is undertaking important economic reforms that will ensure that future growth is broad-based and inclusive,” said ADB Principal Public Management Specialist for Central and West Asia Mr. Hiranya Mukhopadhyay.

“ADB is supporting the Government of Uzbekistan’s efforts, which will strengthen its economic growth trajectory and reduce poverty in the country,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Mr. Werner E. Liepach.

The Economic Management Improvement Program will support important government efforts to ensure fiscal sustainability as well as improve governance in state-owned enterprises, which dominate almost all the important sectors of Uzbekistan’s economy, to make their operations financially viable.

The project will improve access to bank finance by strengthening bank supervision and intermediation to facilitate competitive financing of private sector operations, while also strengthening economic data collection, analysis, management, and dissemination systems to bolster economic decision making.

“The reforms are expected to improve economic management and create a stable investment climate in Uzbekistan that are necessary to increase private sector participation in the economy,” said ADB Country Director for Uzbekistan Mr. Takeo Konishi.

Apart from the loan, ADB will also provide a $1 million technical assistance grant to enhance the government’s capacity to implement reforms, particularly in budget frameworks; public-private partnership; internal audit; risk-based supervision and capital adequacy assessment; and gender sensitivity of public expenditure programs, among others.

The World Bank will contribute $500 million in collaborative cofinancing to the program.