The World Bank has authorised a 500 million dollar loan to support Uzbekistan’s economic and social transformation, the international lender said on Friday.
The loan was approved through the Development Policy Operation to help the Uzbek government implement several important reforms to accelerate the country’s transition to an open, competitive, and more inclusive market economy.
These reforms include transforming the previously restrictive local residence permit system into an efficient electronic residency registration process, abolishing the state production targets and mandatory procurement of cotton, Uzbekistan’s main agricultural commodity.
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The reforms also target the banking sector, privatisation of state-owned enterprises, local governance and gender issues, as well as the expansion of COVID-19 social assistance and the nationwide launch of the government’s new Unified Social Registry system.
The World Bank has played an important role in supporting the country’s implementation of the 2017-2021 Development Strategy, the bank said.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has been carrying out a series of economic reforms since he came to power in 2016.
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