The President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Suma Chakrabarti is planning to visit Uzbekistan in the first half of 2020 to discuss the expansion of the bank's activities in the country, the EBRD chief said at a meeting with the Uzbekistan Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Said Rustamov, the Foreign Ministry said.
The parties discussed the implementation of the EBRD’s five-year country strategy, adopted in 2018.
Suma Chakrabarti noted the bank’s firm intention to further increase the country portfolio, in particular, offer loans for SMEs development and human capital development projects.
To this end, the bank is reportedly considering opening its office in Karakalpakstan next year in addition to the its offices in Tashkent and Andijan cities.
On November 20, the Government of Uzbekistan and the EBRD signed US$ 246.1 million worth of loan agreements for the energy, housing and communal services projects. The first interim session of the Foreign Investors Council with the participation of the EBRD under the President was held in Tashkent on the same day.
The EBRD resumed operations in Uzbekistan in 2017 after a ten-year hiatus. To date, the bank has invested 1.3 billion euros in 70 projects.
