On 3 November in Samarkand, on the first day of the II Uzbekistan Economic Forum in Samarkand, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding on expanding the scope of cooperation in the area of financing for sustainable development.

UNDP is already positioned as a strategic partner in terms of developing financing strategies for attracting financial resources to SDGs in Uzbekistan. Some of results of this ongoing cooperation in this area:

• In July 2021, Uzbekistan became the first country in the region and second in the world to issue a Sovereign Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Bond worth of $US 235 million) for a period of three years. That was an important step to mobilize private sector finance in the country’s commitment to the achievement of the SDGs, and a major advance for development finance worldwide.
• In cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank, UNDP has been supporting Government in establishing enabling environment for green sukuk issuance in Uzbekistan including the development of relevant legislative, institutional, and regulatory framework.
• UNDP is promoting a more integrated approach to financing national development priorities and SDGs in Uzbekistan through establishment of an Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) - a framework aimed to help building more holistic approach for mobilizing and aligning public and private finance with national objectives, and strengthen dialogue and collaboration across government, the private sector and civil society. The related Financing Strategy has been elaborated.On the eve of the II Economic Forum Financial Dialogues were conducted to present and discuss the draft Strategy with national and international stakeholders.

As Matilda Dimovska, UNDP Resident Representative noted in her statement delivered within the II Uzbekistan Economic Forum, “The new avenues for SDG Financing under this MoU are: Tax for SDGs, Insurance and Risk Financing, and Debt for SDGsinitiatives as well as exploring opportunities for introduction of innovative financing instruments including the Green Bonds, Blended finance mechanisms and others to unlock private financing to SDGs”.

• UNDP has launched Insurance and Risk Financing on promoting inclusive insurance and integration of insurance into development planning and financing in Uzbekistan. Basically, to use insurance risk instruments and work side-by-side with the insurance industry to scale protection and build long-term resilience in key sectors including the agriculture.

The Tax for Sustainable Development Goals Initiative is also being launched in Uzbekistan to increase domestic resource mobilization (DRM) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Initiative sees taxation as both a tool for revenue collection as well as a policy tool to direct behavior towards desired outcomes related to e.g., climate, culture, environment, and society, as well as to encourage new and more sustainable growth strategies.

To capitalize on what has been achieved and done so far, UNDP stands ready to continue work towards expanding horizons of financing for SDGs and contributing to the Government Development Strategy 2022-2026.