During his stay in the Russian Federation, the Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade S. Umurzakov met with Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Development Bank N. Podguzov.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the progress on Uzbekistan's obtaining the status of a member of the EDB, the course of cooperation on the development and implementation of joint projects and other topical issues.

The parties highlighted that at the moment a portfolio of promising projects has been formed to modernize basic infrastructure, develop water resources and the health care system. Further steps were considered to promote these projects and raise funds from the EDB for their implementation. They also reviewed the possibility of providing credit lines by the Bank to Uzbek commercial banks in order to finance projects of SMEs.

The sides also discussed opportunities for establishing direct cooperation and exchange of experience between the EDB and the Uzbek Agency for Strategic Development. The Bank's management expressed its readiness to provide consulting assistance to the Agency in the areas of management, assessment and examination of investment projects.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to send an expert group of the Bank to Uzbekistan for a substantive discussion of the projects being developed, reaching specific agreements, as well as developing specific areas of interaction with the Agency.

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is a regional development bank operating in accordance with an interstate agreement dated January 12, 2006, signed by authorized representatives of Russia and Kazakhstan. The EDB's mission is to assist member countries in the transition to an open market economy, stimulate economic growth and expand trade and economic ties.