During the visit of the delegation of the Arab Coordination Group to Uzbekistan a meeting with representatives of the relevant ministries and departments of our country was held in Tashkent on November 6.

The meeting was attended by members of the Arab Coordination Group - representatives of the Islamic Development Bank, the Saudi Fund for Development, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the OPEC Fund for International Development and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.

First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Minister of Finance Rustam Azimov stressed that the reforms, implemented under the leadership of President Islam Karimov in all areas of the economy are an important factor in further development of the relations of our country with the international financial institutions.

The guests were informed in detail on the investment priorities for our economy, new ongoing projects. The members of the delegation of the Arab Coordination Group commended the privatization process, the consistent pace of economic reforms in Uzbekistan, the dynamic development of small business and private entrepreneurship.

Uzbekistan\'s cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank is expanding from year to year. Ten projects worth 186.4 million U.S. dollars have been implemented in cooperation with IDB. Another five projects worth 277.4 million dollars are at the stage of implementation. IDB is mainly active in areas such as the development of economic and social infrastructure, the promotion of foreign trade, technical assistance. Supporting small business, private enterprise development, financing regional projects are also priority directions.

- The Islamic Development Bank has many years of successful cooperation with Uzbekistan, - says its president Ahmad Muhammad Ali al-Madani. - Uzbekistan is a country with rich natural and human resources, its people are of high potential. I would like to note that holding of the meeting of Arab Coordination Group in Tashkent is another acknowledgment of the growing authority of Uzbekistan at the international level. We are confident that the negotiations and the signed documents will be mutually beneficial and our cooperation will be strengthened in the future.

A Memorandum of Cooperation between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development was signed during the visit of President Islam Karimov to Kuwait in 2004.

To date, under the memorandum, many projects such as \"Electrification of the Tashkent Tukimachi railway section\", \"medical equipment for 171 emergency departments of district and city hospitals\" were accomplished. The project on \"equipping the Republican Specialized Center of Cardiac surgery with high-tech medical equipment\" and \"Rehabilitation of irrigation network and drainage system in Jizzakh and Syrdarya regions\" are ongoing.

- In your country, large-scale reforms in order to further economic development are underway,- says regional manager of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development for Central Asia and Europe Yousef Al-Bader. - Our Foundation cooperates with Uzbekistan for many years. In total, joint projects in various sectors for 110 million U.S. dollars have been realised. We hope that in the future the scope of projects will become even wider.

Saudi Fund for Development is actively involved in financing of social and economic projects in developing countries.

- Today\'s meeting of the Arab Coordination Group is an important factor in strengthening the cooperation between the Saudi Fund for Development and Uzbekistan, - says the vice chairman of the board, acting director of the Saudi Fund for Development Yousef Al-Bassam.

- Positive changes are occurring in all spheres in your country. The work carried out under the leadership of President Islam Karimov for Uzbekistan\'s economic development deserves special recognition.

The meeting participants highlighted that great successes in the economic sphere are achieved in Uzbekistan under the leadership of President Islam Karimov. They praised the growth of the Uzbek economy during the global economic crisis, strengthening relations with international financial institutions, further expansion of large-scale reforms.

The sides exchanged views on the prospects of cooperation in the fields of agriculture, education, healthcare, utilities, chemical and metallurgical industries, energy, construction and building materials.

A number of documents among relevant ministries, agencies and companies of our country and the founding members of the Arab Coordination Group were inked at the event. (Source: UzA news agency)