Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) and Uzbekistan have signed a country partnership framework agreement for the period 2024-2029, earmarking US$500 million in new financing to support the country’s ambitious sustainable development agenda.

Further deepening the relationship the OPEC Fund is also extending a new US$20 million loan to support a key preschool education project by the government, setting up 200 preschools for almost 30,000 children across the Central Asian country. The project is co-financed by the Islamic Development Bank and private sponsors. The government’s goal is to achieve universal preschool enrolment by 2030.

OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: “The development of a modern preschool education system is crucial for future economic growth and building human capacity. We are proud to join the government’s efforts and support its ambitious aspirations to become an upper middle-income country by 2030.”

An OPEC Fund delegation headed by President Alkhalifa is visiting Uzbekistan from May 1-5. They met Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Jamshid Kuchkarov, Deputy Prime Minister of Trade and Investment Jamshid Khodjaev, and Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade, Laziz Kudratov.

Speaking at the Tashkent International Investment Forum, President Alkhalifa said: “This year marks the 25th anniversary of the partnership between Uzbekistan and the OPEC Fund. We are very pleased to raise our cooperation to the next level and ready to support key sectors of the economy with the instruments we can offer.”

On the final day of the official visit, the OPEC Fund delegation is expected to visit an OPEC Fund water supply and sanitation project site in the Koshrabad district in the Samarqand region. The US$37 million project will improve health and living conditions of approximately 70,000 people through the construction and upgrading of the local water supply infrastructure.

To date, the OPEC Fund has provided around US$760 million in loans to support nearly 30 public and private sector projects in Uzbekistan. Around 30 percent of sovereign funding has been dedicated to improving water and sanitation, whereas private sector engagements have focused on the transformation of Uzbekistan’s energy sector and the promotion of renewable energy.