Maripov: WB participation in solving new problems will help restore economy and support social sphere

Bishkek, May 11, 2021. / Kabar /. The participation of the World Bank, as a strategic partner, in addressing new challenges and ongoing reforms will help to restore the economy and support the social sphere, Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan Ulukbek Maripov said at a meeting with Vice President of the World Bank for Europe and Central Asia Anna Bjerde, the press service of the Cabinet of Ministers reported.

Maripov informed about the main tasks for stabilizing the economy.

“One of the important tasks is to conduct large-scale vaccination of the population, which will minimize restrictions on the movement of citizens in a pandemic. I would like to express my gratitude for the willingness to allocate funds for the purchase of a vaccine against COVID-19. In addition, as a result of recent events on the Kyrgyz-Tajik state border, hundreds of residential buildings, social and infrastructure facilities have been destroyed. Considering the need to restore the infrastructure as soon as possible, I propose to consider the implementation of the project to restore Batken region within the framework of the Regional Economic Development Project, provided for by the World Bank's Partnership Framework Program until 2023,” Ulukbek Maripov said.

During the meeting, issues related to the implementation of current joint investment projects in areas such as telecommunications, energy, digitalization, education, health care and regional development were also discussed.

For her part, Anna Bjerde expressed support for the main directions of the country's strategic development and the willingness of the World Bank to assist the Cabinet of Ministers in all taken measures.

The sides stressed the need to intensify cooperation between the Kyrgyz Republic and the World Bank on regional and country projects.

For reference: The World Bank assists the authorities of the Kyrgyz Republic in carrying out reforms to improve the investment climate, strengthen such important sectors as transport, agriculture, energy, health care, education, public administration and social protection of the population.

Since the day the Kyrgyz Republic joined the World Bank Group, 111 agreements have been signed for a total of USD 2.1 billion, of which 23 projects are currently being implemented for a total of USD 565.1 million.