Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A round table discussion was held with representatives from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the World Bank regarding the assessment of Uzbekistan’s public financial management system, which will be carried out this year.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry headed by Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Akhadbek Khaydarov.

It was stated that the primary goal of the roundtable is to assess the effectiveness of the public finance management system using the World Bank’s Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PFA) criteria, as well as to discuss the development of the Strategy for Improving this Area for 2025-2030.

Following introductory remarks, the parties exchanged perspectives on the topic of discussion during the meeting. At the same time, it was stated that international experts hired by World Bank officials have significant expertise conducting assessments based on PFA criteria and are willing to collaborate on the formulation of the Strategy for Improving the Public Finance Management System.

The Strategy, which is being prepared by Deputy Minister Akhadbek Khaydarov, also specifies the sectors that should be prioritised when considering future reforms.

In particular, (I) strengthening budgetary discipline; (II) improving the budgetary competence of ministries and agencies, as well as local self-government bodies, by clearly defining their rights and responsibilities; (III) continuing work to expand the coverage of the consolidated budget; (IV) ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of budget expenditures; and (V) improving the efficiency of the budgetary process. (V) increasing the efficiency of the budget process; (V) reviewing fiscal control instruments to strengthen their role in preventing inappropriate and illegal expenditures (ex-ante); (vi) emphasising the importance of the budget process; and (vii) the need to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of budget expenditures.

Following the discussion with World Bank delegates, additional procedures and terms for the evaluation process based on PEFA criteria were agreed upon.

On 25-26 January, the World Bank mission, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and relevant government agencies will attend seminars to explore technical support subjects for further examination of public expenditures and finance.