On September 25-26, the annual meeting of the Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructural Investment Bank (AIIB) was held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
The ninth meeting of the Board was devoted to the theme “Creating Sustainable Infrastructure for All.” Current issues on the agenda of the global economy were considered, and strategic programs and plans for infrastructure development in Asia and other regions of the world were discussed.
About 2,000 representatives from more than 100 countries participated in the summit.
Uzbekistan became a member of AIIB in November 2016, and in recent years, it has become one of the bank’s biggest beneficiaries.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev gave a speech on the first day of the meeting.
“The complex geopolitical situation, global economic instability, food and energy resources scarcity, poverty, and environmental problems are becoming increasingly acute. For instance, the average global temperature is projected to rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2040; however, we are concerned that, based on current trends, this could happen as early as 2030.
A quarter of the world’s population lacks clean drinking water. As climate change accelerates, food shortages have become a global threat. As a result, about 800 million people in the world live in extreme poverty,” Mirziyoyev said.
Mirziyoyev noted that the poverty rate in Uzbekistan has been reduced from 23% to 11%. This year, the aim is to reduce this indicator to 9%, and by 2030, it will be halved.
Furthermore, in the last eight years, the enrollment of children in preschool education has increased from 27% to 74%, and higher education has increased from 9% to 38%. It plans to invest $2 billion to open 100 new schools of the most advanced standards in all cities and villages yearly.
Another issue that Mirziyoyev paid attention to is logistics, interruptions in the product supply chain, and the increase in the price of raw materials and consumer goods. The head of state noted that all this will sharply increase the load on the existing infrastructure and will be a significant obstacle to global economic development.
According to experts, by 2030, the world will need $15 trillion of investment for new infrastructure. Also, foreign investments have decreased by 10% over the past two years, and the value of financial resources globally has almost doubled.
Mirziyoyev said that projects worth $200 million for developing medium-sized cities and $130 million for improving infrastructure in rural areas are launched in cooperation with the AIIB.
To develop the “green” economy, it is aimed to reach 40% of “green” energy sources by 2030. In the coming years, another 18 gigawatts of solar and wind power, 3 gigawatts of hydropower plants, 5 gigawatts of energy storage capacity, and $5 billion worth of power grids will be implemented.
“I would like to note that neighboring countries have also started major projects on renewable energy. We are taking great steps to make Central Asia, a rich renewable energy source, a major exporter of ‘green’ energy into world energy markets in the coming years. In this regard, I would like to emphasize that the project for the construction of the Transcaspian Energy Route has great potential.” Mirziyoyev proposed implementing the “green” energy development program in Central Asia under the leadership of the AIIB.
He noted that the problems of food security and shortage of water resources are becoming particularly acute in Central Asia. Uzbekistan has started big projects to save 15 billion cubic meters of water by increasing water efficiency by 25% in the next five years. “But solving the water problem requires the countries’ cooperation from the region and international financial organizations. Therefore, I would like to promote the establishment of a regional center for the wide implementation of water-saving technologies in cooperation with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. I think our neighbors will also support this initiative,” Mirziyoyev concluded.
