16 February 2021, Budapest – During the official visit of the delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan to Budapest on the occasion of the Uzbek – Hungarian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation, the Minister of Agriculture Jamshid Khodjayev held a meeting with the FAO Assistant Director-General Vladimir Rakhmanin and the Sub-Regional Coordinator for Central Asia and FAO Representative in Uzbekistan Viorel Gutu.

     The sides expressed a mutual desire to strengthen the further cooperation and discussed priority areas of cooperation. Building on their long-standing cooperation, FAO and Uzbekistan have signed the Country Programming Framework for 2021-2025 document, which gives impetus and further guidance to the partnership.

     In line with national SDG priorities, FAO’s activities under this CPF will support the Government in its efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda in order to help Uzbekistan achieve a sustainable food system along the entire agrifood value chain – from the production, aggregation, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal of food products originating from agriculture, forestry and fisheries – taking into consideration parts of the wider economic, social and natural environment. The total resource budget for implementation of the CPF is expected to be approximately USD 17 million.

     Along with this, new project agreements in the following areas were signed between the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan and FAO: Recovery and development of the potato sector in response to COVID-19; Strengthening sustainable food systems through geographical indications; Rice Crop Production and Management Support; Support in implementation of inclusive agricultural policies. New projects with the total budget of more than half a million dollars are planned to be implemented for the next two years.