Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Uzbekistan took first place in terms of the volume of loans received from international financial organizations and development agencies in the Eurasian region in 2023. This is stated in the report of the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD).

The report, entitled “Sovereign Financing in the Eurasian Region: Trends and Directions”, is the result of the work of the EFSD Chief Economist Group to create the Sovereign Financing Database (SFD).

According to the report, the volume of sovereign financing approved in 2023 for the countries of the Eurasian region amounted to US$6.2 billion, including 337 transactions. This group of countries includes Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. This confirms the important role of international financial institutions and development agencies in providing financial support.

The report’s authors highlight three key features of sovereign financing in 2023. First, multilateral development banks (MDBs) are the main donors in the region, accounting for 91.2% of all disbursed funds, amounting to US$5.6 billion. The rest of the funding comes from development agencies and climate funds. MDBs also dominate the provision of stabilization support.

Second, MDB investments play an important role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There is an increasing emphasis on climate issues in stabilization programs.

Third, countries in the region are actively requesting technical assistance. Such assistance is provided in the areas of public administration and economic development.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank are the leaders in the volume of approved sovereign financing in the region in 2023, with a combined share of 59.7%: US$1.9 billion (30.7% of the total) and US$1.8 billion ( 29%) respectively.

They are followed by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with US$1 billion (16.1%) and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) with US$396.7 million (6.4%).

Among the 11 countries in the region, Uzbekistan ranks first in terms of the amount of funding approved in 2023, receiving US$3.2 billion, which is 51.6% of all funds allocated for the Eurasian region.