BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 5
By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend:
Uzbekistan's economy has been growing very well in recent years, at between five and six percent per annum, on the back of the bold economic reforms initiated by President Mirziyoyev, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Overseas Development Institute and former President of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Sumantra Chakrabarti told Trend in an interview.
"These reforms have included improving the investment climate, currency, price and trade liberalization, the reduction of tax rates, and the move away from forced labor. Together with political reforms, this approach led Uzbekistan to be rightly recognized by “The Economist” as its country of the year in 2019. Economic growth has allowed the government to use its revenues to boost investment in both industry and services," Chakrabarti noted.
According to the EBRD former president, all independent assessments (e.g. by the World Bank) show that there is growing transparency in the Uzbek business sector.
In the latest World Bank Ease of Doing Business Report, Uzbekistan is rated as one of the twenty economies where the business climate improved the greatest over the previous twelve months, he noted.
"Uzbekistan focused on strengthening minority investor protection, simplifying the procedures for tax payments, reducing non-tariff barriers to trade, and making contract enforcement much easier. Back in 2011, Uzbekistan ranked 166th in the World Bank’s league table. In 2019, as a result of the reforms instituted by President Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan has risen to 69th place," said Chakrabarti.
He expressed satisfaction with the resumption of negotiations by Uzbekistan on its WTO accession.
"It is great news that Uzbekistan has restarted the process towards WTO membership. There is a lot of work ahead to achieve membership but it is already clear that Uzbekistan enjoys the support of the US, the EU, Japan and South Korea on this priority journey," Chakrabarti added.
He also stressed that the WTO membership process can be the catalyst for further economic reform and accession would allow Uzbek exports to reach 95 percent of global markets.
"The waiver of the Jackson-Vanik amendment in the US, albeit subject to annual review, recognizes the reforms undertaken by the Uzbek Government and will also be helpful to the economy. As for the membership in Eurasian Economic Union, Uzbekistan should assess carefully the costs and benefits, drawing on the experience of its neighbors, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan," stated Chakrabarti.
Suma Chakrabarti served as President of the EBRD from July 2012 to July 2020. Sir Suma was knighted in 2006 for his work in international development.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev awarded Suma Chakrabarti with Dustlik Order on June 14, 2020. The signed document underscored his merits "in establishing a strategic partnership and expanding multifaceted cooperation" between Uzbekistan and EBRD.
On July 2, 2020, Overseas Development Institute announced the appointment of Chakrabarti as its next Chair of the Board of Trustees.
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