OREANDA-NEWS. On April 11, 2008 the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Executive Director Mr. Kyung-Ho Kim has arrived in Uzbekistan to meet with the representatives of several ministries and agencies of the country.

During the talk with the Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of Uzbekistan for Foreign Economic Activity (NBU) B. Nurullaev it was specifically pointed out that the consistent reforms being implemented under the lead of the President Islam Karimov in all spheres of economy, including the banking and finance system were producing positive results, which served as an important factor in further development of the relations with foreign partners.

The Asian Development Bank has been investing in a number of socio-economic spheres of the country since 1995. It has thereby supported the deep reforms being pursued by the country's government. The results of cooperation with the Asian Development Bank are particularly notable at the example of reforms in the spheres of education, utilization of natural resources, agricultural sector management, transportation and transport communications, healthcare, banking and finance, industrial production, trade and energy.

In March 2006, the Asian Development Bank approved the Strategy and Programme of Cooperation for Uzbekistan for the years 2006-2010.

By now the volume of loans extended by this international financial organization to our country has exceeded US\\$1 billion. These funds have been directed into 25 strategically important projects covering the spheres of transportation infrastructure, energy, agriculture, municipal services management, small business and private enterprise, public, secondary specialized and professional education, etc. Moreover, as a part of technical aid the bank has extended a number of grants totaling some US\\$72 million.

The projects gradually implemented in Uzbekistan in partnership with the Asian Development Bank illustrate the consistency of the cooperation between the parties. In light of this it is important to point out that the ADB has extended Uzbekistan the total of US\\$75.3 million for the development of the main highway that constitutes a part of the Central Asian regional transport corridor. These funds were invested in the development of the 1,204 km road segment connecting Guzar, Bukhara, Nukus and Benynau, a road segment that connects Uzbekistan with Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan.

"Uzbekistan is a country with a great economic potential," Mr. Kyung-Ho Kim said. "The Asian Development Bank highly values cooperation with your country. During this visit we've once again witnessed that the projects developed jointly with the ADB are being effectively implemented in practice. We were pleased to note that your country has created the necessary legal foundation for the reform and liberalization of the banking system and has created a favourable investment climate for foreign investors. We support further development of cooperation with this country."

During the meeting with the representatives of the NBU the parties shared opinions on the current condition and development prospects of relations between the country and the ADB. They also considered the possibilities of developing and implementing new joint projects.