Tashkent, Uzbekistan, January 30, 2024 – Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Agriculture, under the leadership of GGGI Uzbekistan Country Representative, Dr. Aaron Russell, and the Minister of Agriculture, H. E. Dr. Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov, signed a Memorandum of Understanding “On cooperation in the field of climate-smart agriculture and green growth” to enhance knowledge exchange and efforts for the introduction of renewable energy, scale up the water saving technologies and promote green investments in the agriculture sector.
Moreover, GGGI Uzbekistan and the Ministry of Agriculture will identify opportunities to cooperate in awareness raising and education to promote financing and investment in data collection and analysis to advance policy mainstreaming in the areas of climate-smart and climate-resilient agricultural technologies which may include water-savings technologies, horticultural greenhouses, renewable energy systems, windbreaks, soil conservation, and carbon farming, among others.
At the signing ceremony, there were important discussions about this new relationship. Dr. Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov, focused on the water constraints in Karakalpakstan and the need of water saving technologies, the impacts of climate change, the need for the sector to work on reducing Green House Gases (GHG) Emissions, and the interest to work jointly on agri-business entrepreneurs with Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), among others.
From his side, Dr. Aaron Russell mentioned the importance of strategic thinking and the role of GGGI in supporting the government and private sector in Uzbekistan to introduce the agriculture sector towards climate–smart agriculture. The relevance of Uzbekistan’s central Asia and the possibility of having a closer relationship with China’s new green developments was noted.
At the end of the ceremony, the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan noted: “We highly appreciate GGGI’s support to the agricultural sector of Uzbekistan, and development of climate-smart, climate resilient and other green farming and agri-business entrepreneurs, and MSMEs.”
GGGI partners with the Government of Uzbekistan to facilitate the use of environmentally and economically sustainable interventions in the country.
Background:
GGGI’s role is to support Uzbekistan’s environmentally sustainable economic growth through green growth projects, building on development initiatives by the government at the national and local level, in collaboration with other development partners.
GGGI Uzbekistan Country Planning Framework (CPF) for 2021-2025 is the strategy of the GGGI Uzbekistan program for the next 5 years. In the CPF period, GGGI will focus on supporting the government in developing and updating policies to create an enabling environment for green investments and prepare projects to directly mobilize investments for climate-resilient agriculture, waste management, and green buildings. These efforts will align with national goals and priorities expressed in National Development Strategy (Action Strategy) for 2017-2021, Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and Strategy for Uzbekistan’s Transition to Green Economy 2019-2030.
The proposed programmatic solutions in the CPF are as follows:
1) Green Investment
2) Climate Action
3) Climate Resilient Agriculture
4) Waste Management
5) Green Buildings
Currently, GGGI Uzbekistan is implementing the KOICA-funded Green Rehabilitation Investment Project for Karakalpakstan Republic to Address Impacts of the Aral Sea Crisis (Aral Sea GRIP) and the AFD-funded Support for the Realization of a Pilot Strategic Environmental Assessment Project (SEA Project).
Find updates on the Aral Sea GRIP project: https://ggkp.org/aralseagrip