On September 20, the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev received the President of the Islamic Development Bank Bandar Hajjar, who arrived in Uzbekistan as the head of the delegation of the leading Arab funds of the Coordination Group.

The Head of the state, warmly welcoming the guest, noted with deep satisfaction the long-term fruitful partnership with the Islamic Development Bank in implementation of priority socio-economic and cultural-humanitarian programs in the country.

To date, the portfolio of mutually beneficial cooperation of Uzbekistan with the IsDB group includes projects in various sectors of the economy with attraction of concessional financing worth $1.9 billion.

They cover such areas as modernization of road transport, energy and communal infrastructures, housing construction in rural areas, development of drinking water supply system, healthcare and education, support of business entities and others.

During the conversation, prospects for expanding practical cooperation with this bank were considered.

Particular attention was paid to implementation of major programs and projects aimed at improving the quality of life of the population in rural areas, modernizing the infrastructure, equipping medical and education institutions in the regions with modern equipment, supporting entrepreneurs' business initiatives and disclosing their export potential, including using the mechanism of public-private partnership.

The enormous potential and, most importantly, the mutual desire to further strengthen cooperation, as evidenced by the Partnership Strategy between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Islamic Development Bank for 2018-2021 at the amount of 1.3 billion dollars, signed on the eve of the IsDB Group Day in the city of Tashkent, was emphasized.

The President of Uzbekistan expressed sincere gratitude to the President of the Islamic Development Bank for supporting activities of the Imam Bukhari International Research Center in Samarkand, created to study the rich spiritual heritage of our great ancestors who made an invaluable contribution to the development of the entire world civilization.

In turn, Bandar Hajjar noted that Uzbekistan is a key partner in the region for the Islamic Development Bank Group.

He highly appreciated the large-scale reforms carried out in Uzbekistan, emphasizing that the IsDB is ready to expand all-round support for reforms in the country and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation.

UzA