BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 8
By Ilkin Seyfaddini – Trend:
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will allocate $220 million to banks of Uzbekistan to finance small businesses, Trend reports citing the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan.
The issue was discussed on April 7, during a videoconference with participation of Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov with President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Suma Chakrabarti.
The parties discussed measures to counter the spread of coronavirus infection and mitigate the impact of the global pandemic on socio-economic processes in Uzbekistan.
Chakrabarti confirmed that the EBRD is ready to support Uzbekistan in this extremely difficult time by mobilizing funding to combat the spread of the virus, supporting entrepreneurs and measures to increase employment, as well as ensuring sustainable functioning of the economy.
Four Uzbek commercial banks, as a first stage of assistance, will be provided with credit lines to finance small and medium-sized business projects in total amount of $220 million trade finance line through the EBRD's solidarity package (totaling $1 billion).
At the same time, the EBRD looks to provide $100 million to support the capital of regional utility companies, which have faced a decline in the receipt of utility payments from the population and businesses.
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