BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 15. Uzbekistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) discussed ways to mobilize grant financing, technical assistance and lending resources to support the development of 34 tourism master plans across the country’s regions.
This was reflected in the statement by the Uzbekistan’s Tourism Committee, following a meeting between representatives of the Tourism Committee and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) focused on the development of regional tourism infrastructure, the drafting of master plans, and the mobilization of international financial resources.
Meanwhile, J. Turaev, deputy director of the Project Office for Tourism Infrastructure Development under the Tourism Committee, and Tatiana Kopelman, an ADB representative, took part in the meeting, along with other committee officials.
The sides explored opportunities to use ADB grant funding, technical assistance and lending resources in preparing the regional master plans.
The plans are scheduled to be developed in 2026–2027 under a presidential resolution adopted in April 2026. The initiative is intended to provide a framework for developing tourism infrastructure and identifying investment opportunities across Uzbekistan’s regions.
"In addition, 31 tourism projects are planned for implementation in 2026–2027 based on the principle of "attractive destination — project — infrastructure — entrepreneur — promotion — tourist"," the statement said.
The meeting also covered the continuation of an ADB technical assistance project focused on mapping creative and intangible cultural tourism resources in the Fergana Valley.
The mapping initiative is aimed at identifying cultural and creative tourism assets that could support the development of new tourism products and destinations in the region.
The parties expressed readiness to expand international cooperation in tourism and work together on promising projects, including infrastructure development, regional planning and the mobilization of international financial resources.
The discussions come as Uzbekistan seeks to strengthen tourism infrastructure outside its major established destinations and develop a broader pipeline of regional tourism projects.
