The EDB presents the possibilities of its Technical Assistance Fund at the 3rd International Forum “Road to Prosperity” in Uzbekistan
Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 26 September 2025. – Vera Barkatina, Manager of the Technical Assistance Fund at the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), spoke at the United Nations Development Programme in Uzbekistan’s plenary session titled Advancing Human Capital and Inclusive Growth in the Digital Era. The session took place at the 3rd International Forum “Road to Prosperity,” organised under the patronage of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev on 17–18 September in Namangan, Uzbekistan. The event brought together representatives of governments, international organisations and financial institutions from Eurasian countries.
In her remarks, Vera Barkatina emphasised: “Human capital development is a priority of the technical assistance provided under the Bank’s investment expansion programme. Over more than 17 years of operations, the EDB Technical Assistance Fund has hosted several dozen conferences, workshops and training sessions. In 2024, it launched a cluster project, the EDB Academy, which has since become an independent unit. The Academy organises educational and business events with leading industry experts for government officials and business representatives interested in the Bank’s products and expertise.”
The presentation focused in particular on Uzbekistan as a new EDB member state. One of the first technical assistance projects the Bank plans to support in the country will be the establishment of the Tashkent International Financial Centre (TIFC), initiated at the request of Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade.
The initiative aims to:
- leverage new forms of investment to address the challenges of socio-economic development;
- build state-of-the-art financial and business infrastructure for national and foreign investors;
- develop competitive legal and financial instruments, including improved corporate governance and contractual regulation;
- implement digital technologies and new financial products to enhance the competitiveness of the national market; and
- develop urban, transport and social infrastructure in Tashkent and other major cities.
Other participants in the session included Gulnora Rakhimova, Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan; Sachiko Imoto, Senior Vice President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); Andrin Fink, Head of Cooperation – Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Switzerland; Dilfuza Nurmatova, CEO of HAMROH; Shea Flynn, Sustainability Director for Eurasia & Middle East, Coca-Cola Uzbekistan; and Anastasiya Kiseleva, Senior AI Policy, Justice and Ethics Expert, Stratejai.
The Forum served as an excellent platform for presenting the Bank’s technical assistance tools in a new country of its operations to a wide range of stakeholders, including representatives of ministries and agencies from other Eurasian countries and potential member states such as Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
Additional Information:
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is a multilateral development bank investing in Eurasia. For more than 19 years, the Bank has worked to strengthen and expand economic ties and foster comprehensive development in its member countries. By July 2025, the EDB’s cumulative portfolio comprised 319 projects with a total investment of US $19.1 billion. Its portfolio consists principally of projects with an integration effect in transport infrastructure, digital systems, green energy, agriculture, manufacturing and mechanical engineering. The Bank adheres to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ESG principles in its operations.
The EDB is implementing three mega-projects as part of its 2022–2026 Strategy: the Central Asian Water and Energy Complex, the Eurasian Transport Network and the Eurasian Agricultural Goods Distribution System.
The EDB Media Centre:
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