The Government of Uzbekistan and the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE), in collaboration with IFAD’s Near East, North Africa and Europe Division (NEN), organized a virtual national workshop for the Uzbekistan Country Strategy and Programme Evaluation (CSPE), as a final step in the evaluation process.

The virtual event took place on 24 February 2022 and entailed the participation of representatives of the Government, development partners, civil society organizations, private sector partners, and IFAD senior management and staff.

Inaugurating the event, opening statements were delivered by Mr Oybek Shagazatov, Head of the Department for Cooperation with IFIs, Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade, on behalf of Hon Mr Vafaev Shukhrat Abdusharifovich, Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade; Hon Mr Yuldashev Kakhramon Anvardjanovich, Deputy Minister of Agriculture; and HE Mr Otabek Khamidullaevich Akbarov, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Uzbekistan to IFAD. Dr Indran Naidoo, Director, IOE, gave an introductory statement. Ms Dina Saleh, Regional Director, NEN, pronounced a statement on behalf of IFAD Management.

Ms Simona Somma, Evaluation Specialist, presented the CSPE’s main findings, conclusions and recommendations. A lively panel discussion then took place, with Mr Fidy Rajaonson, Country Director for Uzbekistan, IFAD; Mr Alisher Shukurov, Adviser to the Minister of Economics, Innovations Development and Investments; Mr Enrico Pinali, Deputy Country Director for Uzbekistan, Asian Development Bank; Mr Oybek Shagazatov; Ms Dina Saleh; and Mr Fabrizio Felloni, Deputy Director, IOE. The event participants also took questions from the audience.

Closing the event, Hon Mr Abdusharifovich delivered closing remarks and reflections on the way forward in the IFAD-Government partnership.

The workshop was attended by over 100 participants.

The recording of the event is available here.