(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 4. We are in the
process of developing of a new country strategy, which, once
prepared and approved, will be a public document, Andi Aranitasi,
the newly appointed Head of the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) office in Uzbekistan told Trend in an exclusive interview.
"Following the reengagement with the country in late 2017, the
EBRD approved its 5-year country strategy in 2018. It identified
the following operational and strategic priorities for our work in
Uzbekistan," he said.
According to Aranitasi, those priorities included the
enhancement of competitiveness by strengthening the role of the
private sector's role in the economy, and also the promotion of
green energy and resource solutions across sectors. The support for
increased regional and international cooperation and integration
has also been one of the pillars of the Bank's cooperation with
Uzbekistan.
"The EBRD strategy for Uzbekistan recognized the need to
strengthen the country's path to reform, expand the role of civil
society, provide greater freedom to mass media and promote women's
entrepreneurship. Our Bank continued working on the improvement of
the investment climate in Uzbekistan by facilitating the activity
of the Foreign Investors' Council, which is serving as a platform
for dialogue between foreign investors and the authorities
fostering reforms," he said.
Aranitasi also added that the EBRD has also been providing
support for Uzbekistan's green transition. The Bank's investment is
contributing to a long-term decarbonization plan that the EBRD and
the government of Uzbekistan jointly developed and which aims to
achieve a carbon neutral power sector by 2050.
Further speaking, the official noted that, in 2023, the EBRD has
already organized the $205 million financial package for the
construction of three greenfield solar power plants with total
installed capacity of nearly 900 MW in Uzbekistan.
"Once commissioned, the three projects are expected to generate
up to 2,200 GWh of electricity, providing power to over 1 million
homes in Uzbekistan, and reducing annual CO2 emissions by up to 1.2
million tons," he said.
According to Aranitasi, the EBRD, the operations of which became
fully aligned with the Paris Agreement, is providing support for
Uzbekistan's green transition.
"Last year we financed major renewable energy projects such as 1
GW wind power plants in the Bukhara region (largest renewable
investment for the Bank across all its economies) and a 500 MW
greenfield wind power plant in the Navoi region of Uzbekistan," he
noted.
The Bank has also financed the construction of a 100 MW wind
power plant (WPP) in Karakalpakstan by providing a loan to a major
international developer ACWA Power, Aranitasi said, pointing out
that this project is a key milestone for the EBRD's cooperation in
Uzbekistan, since it was tendered as part of the EBRD supported 2
GW wind auction program in the country.
"Uzbekistan is very ambitious in its green energy transition and
we are delighted to see that Uzbekistan recently increased its
renewable energy generation target from 12 GW all the way up to 25
GW by 2030. The EBRD remains a dedicated partner to Uzbekistan in
its renewable energy initiatives and continue to support
sustainable economic growth," he said.
With regard to cooperation between Uzbekistan and the Bank in
the transport sector, Aranitasi stated that the EBRD will be
supporting the rehabilitation of the national road network of the
country, particularly in the Khorezm region, as well as the
expansion of logistic hubs together with private sector
partners.
"The EBRD is facilitating the enhancement of public-private
partnership environment via support for the Tashkent-Samarkand road
development. Our Bank is also planning to support the Electric
Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Strategy as part of the
post-signing technical assistance under Khorezm regional roads
project. We are also exploring potential cooperation with the Uzbek
Railways on the reforms agenda, electrification and the railcar
fleet upgrades," he said.
The official pointed out that Uzbekistan is actively developing
transport links with all of its neighbors, but as a landlocked
country, it will have to rely on transit routes through other
countries to present itself as viable transit option.
"Uzbekistan is currently pursuing multimodal transportation
(road and rail) from China, through Kyrgyzstan by road, then
onwards through the Trans-Afghan route or through Turkmenistan and
Iran by road. Other options include the use of Middle Corridor or
the Turkmen port of Turkmenbashi," he said.
In this regard, Uzbekistan Railways, the country's main freight
carrier, need to be reformed to improve efficiency, the official
said, noting that significant investment will be required to
electrify sections of railway in the Fergana Valley, between the
key cities of Bukhara and Khiva and elsewhere. The same goes for
the rehabilitation of roads across the country. In parallel,
Uzbekistan should modernize its rolling stock and improve its
customs services to ensure smooth transit and transport.
At the same time, as Aranitasi pointed out, the route through
Kazakhstan to its ports on the Caspian Sea seems to be most stable
option for cargo travelling through Uzbekistan.
"However, there are multiple inefficiencies at border crossing
points between the two countries and bottlenecks in the ports of
Aktau and Kuryk. What is more, the Caspian Sea is not always
navigable, so the Uzbek authorities are keen to explore
alternatives," he explained.
Aranitasi further elaborated on the Bank's support for financial
sector of Uzbekistan, noting that the overall potential for the
development of this field in Central Asia is very high.
"This is particularly relevant for Uzbekistan given the size of
its population and rather low penetration of banking services. The
Bank is supporting the banking sector as well as non-banking
financial institutions such as insurance, leasing companies and
microfinanciers of Central Asia in multiple ways, including the
support of trade and provision of funding to be used to improve
access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and
equity investments in local banks and non-bank institutions," he
explained.
According to Aranitasi, special efforts are put in place to
support the green, inclusive and digital direction of partner
financial institutions by specially designed programs including
Women in Business and Youth in Business.
"They promote women entrepreneurship and create work
opportunities for young businessmen. The most recent program is
targeting digitalization of women-led/woman-owned businesses," the
official said.
Green agenda is equally important for the EBRD, Aranitasi noted,
adding that the Bank's Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF)
Uzbekistan Framework is not only encouraging green financing but
also helping the Central Bank of Uzbekistan and partner-banks to
build their climate risk mitigation capacity in line with the Paris
Agreement the requirements.
Secondly, the EBRD is implementing capacity building advisory
projects aimed at sharing best practices in banking sector of the
Central Asia with the local financial institutions, the EBRD head
of office said.
Further speaking, Aranitasi noted that the EBRD partner-banks
participate in regional and international training and networking
events.
"This helps them stay in touch with the most recent global
industry trends and exchange views and experiences. We continue
promoting environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards and
good corporate climate governance (CCG) among financial
institutions in the region. They will develop and implement
guidelines and regulations to support the region's transition to a
low-carbon and climate-resilient economy," he explained.
Aranitasi pointed out that the EBRD supports financial
institutions in adopting a strategic approach to addressing ESG and
climate-related risks, as well as to enhance CCG. The Bank
currently has 11 financial partners in Uzbekistan and actively
engage with them in green and inclusive lending as well as in
support of interregional and international trade.
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