The Minister of Investments, Industry and Trade of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov held the first official meeting with the President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Zhou Jiayi. The negotiations took place on February 10 and became the first visit of the AIIB head to Central Asia, which Tashkent called a symbolic signal of strengthening partnership.
During the meeting, it was noted that Uzbekistan remains the largest partner of AIIB in the region: the country accounts for 51% of all Bank operations in Central Asia. In terms of project volume, the republic ranks 6th in the global AIIB portfolio, and the total volume of joint initiatives already exceeds $7 billion. Additionally, it was recalled that in 2024 Samarkand hosted a meeting of the Bank's Board of Governors.
The parties paid special attention to cooperation priorities until 2030. These include expanding financing of the private sector without sovereign guarantees, supporting public-private partnership projects, developing green energy and implementing the "From Poverty to Prosperity" program. At the end of the meeting, Kudratov invited the head of AIIB to the Tashkent International Investment Forum, which will be held on June 16–19, 2026.