President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has signed a law on Uzbekistan’s accession to the Agreement Establishing the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). Uzbekistan has become the seventh member of the Bank and its third largest shareholder with a 10% equity stake.
The EDB’s other members are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.
“We welcome Uzbekistan’s decision to become a member state of the Eurasian Development Bank. This partnership opens up great opportunities for the economic development of both Uzbekistan and the entire region. The EDB will support Uzbekistan in its commitment to grow sustainably and quickly, and to improve the well-being of its citizens. The Bank has already started working on investment projects in the Republic, intending to finance the first of them this year. With each new project and each new participant, we continue to fulfill our mission, thus contributing to the sustainable development of the Eurasian region,” said Nikolai Podguzov, Chairman of the EDB Management Board.
Uzbekistan’s accession will create new opportunities for the country to modernize its transport infrastructure, energy and water sector, and will accelerate its industrial and agricultural development.
The decision to admit Uzbekistan to the EDB was approved by the Bank’s Council on July 16, 2024. During the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting held in December 2024 in St. Petersburg, President Mirziyoyev announced Uzbekistan’s intention to complete all necessary procedures and join the EDB in early 2025.
The EDB is a multilateral development bank investing in Eurasia. For more than 18 years, the Bank has worked to strengthen and expand economic ties and foster comprehensive development in its member countries. By 2025, the EDB’s cumulative portfolio comprised 305 projects with a total investment of US $16.5 billion. The Bank’s portfolio consists principally of projects with an integration effect in transport infrastructure, digital systems, green energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and mechanical engineering.
