President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov has signed a decree to create a holding company in the agro-industrial engineering sphere (UzAgroPromMashHolding).

Under the decree 'On measures to further improve the management and financial recovery of agricultural engineering enterprises', the company will pursue a unified scientific technical and investment policy in creating new and modernizing the current facilities for production of agricultural machinery.

The company will carry out the abovementioned activities by using modern energy and metal saving technologies, developing and coordinating the scientific technical and production cooperatives among the enterprises owned by the holding company and other enterprises of Uzbekistan.

The initial authorized capital of the holding company will be formed at the expense of state-owned packages of shares and shares transferred to the company at the value determined by an independent appraisal organization, according to the resolution.

The company was allowed to conduct additional issue of shares to purposefully spend the proceeds for the implementation of sectoral investment projects by the country's preserving the stake in the company in the amount of not less than 51 percent, according to the resolution.

Chairman of the holding will be appointed upon a decision of the general meeting of shareholders of the company in consultation with the Uzbek Cabinet of Ministers.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Ten years ago a community of practice was formed by the World Bank to allow public procurement professionals share experiences and learn from their peers in the Central Asia Region.

Over the last decade this community of practice has grown to include more than 20 countries across Europe and Central Asia.

The 10th Public Procurement Knowledge Exchange Platform is being held in Istanbul, Turkey at the end of May 2014, marking a decade of learning and sharing experience among thousands of public procurement professionals.

If you were a public procurement officer working in Central Asia ten years ago, it was unlikely that you had any direct communication linkages with your counterparts in Georgia, Turkey, or any other country in Europe and Central Asia.  Although much of the work being done by procurement officers in many countries was similar in both scope and format, a mechanism that could link these professionals through an informal community of practice simply did not exist.

April 25, 2005, however, was a turning point. This date marked the first day of the inaugural Regional Public Procurement Forum - a regional workshop developed by the World Bank in an effort to draw on expertise on public procurement from around Central Asia and beyond, foster cooperation, and provide a platform to exchange knowledge and experiences relating to public procurement reform.  

By the time this first forum had ended, an action plan had emerged. It called for both the establishment of a regional public procurement group that would meet at an annual forum and the introduction of mechanisms to expand competition and promote regional integration and cooperation in the sphere public procurement.  This first forum planted the seed for what has subsequently sprouted into an annual forum that is instrumental in improving public procurement for practitioners across the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region.

"The introduction of the Public Procurement Forum in 2005 was an important moment, in terms of support being provided by the World Bank," notes Samia Msadek, Director for Operational Services and Quality in the ECA region of the World Bank, "this forum is fundamental in helping to ensure the sustainability of the work we are doing in coordination with our public procurement partners throughout the region."

In the decade since then the representatives from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan first met to develop a common platform to learn from one another, this has grown into an annual Platform and has spurred the creation of an influential community of practice - spanning more than 20 countries throughout Europe and Central Asia region and beyond. Hundreds of participants - from Albania to South Korea - have benefited from this annual gathering and thousands more have been trained in a variety of public procurement practices. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, all of these beneficiaries now have a vibrant community of practice to draw upon when exploring new developments in public procurement. [Click here to continue reading].

Description

Field observations in Central Asia indicate that the climate has been warming and the consequences of this trend have already been observed. Disasters related to climate change destroy settlements, agricultural land, and infrastructure. Central Asian countries should therefore develop resilience and adapt to climate change. This report shows the results of the research combining field observations with sophisticated satellite-based data and created models to demonstrate the impacts of climate change on the hydrology of the Aral Sea Basin.

This working paper describes the results of research conducted by a technical assistance in Central Asia funded by ADB. The technical assistance on Water and Adaptation Interventions in Central and West Asia combined field observations with sophisticated satellite-based data and created models to demonstrate the impacts of climate change on the hydrology of the Aral Sea Basin.

Adaptation options in Central Asia

Adaptation strategies are very scale-dependent and location-specific. The assessment tools were used to analyze a range of adaptation actions that might be suitable for Central Asia. The options explored can be summarized in three broad categories:

• expanding the supply of water available in the future;
• increasing the productivity of water; and
• reducing future demand for water.

Results indicate that climate change will put additional challenges on decision makers to manage water resources in a beneficial way both to the environment and human life. The results of this technical assistance show that solutions are possible when decision makers will act adequately, resources are available and actions will be taken in common understanding of all countries.

Contents

• Introduction

Assessing Climate Change

• Impacts of Climate Change
• Concrete Adaptation Options in Central Asia

References