In September 2025, representatives of the Slovak Ministry of Finance visited Uzbekistan to support the country’s efforts to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and green priorities into its national budgeting system.
From 22 to 26 September 2025, UNDP in Uzbekistan hosted expert analysts on public finance from the Value for Money Division of the Slovak Ministry of Finance. During their five-day visit to Tashkent, the Slovak experts met with key government institutions, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Ecology, Environment Protection and Climate Change, the Ministry of Energy, the Committee on Budget and Economic Affairs of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis, and the Agency for Strategic Reforms.
Discussions focused on strengthening Uzbek budgetary system, embedding SDGs and green priorities into public finance planning, and building institutional capacity. “I think we share some of the same challenges that need to be addressed. I hope our story was helpful for developing budgetary practices and public finance management in Uzbekistan, and that you can also learn from our experience, including our mistakes, so as not to repeat them,” Matej Petroci, expert analyst at the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, told participants.
Sharing Tools for Strategic Budgeting
The mission concluded with a workshop on international good practices, bringing together officials from across the public finance sector. The Slovak team presented practical approaches to enhancing efficiency, transparency, and policy alignment, including expenditure tagging, spending reviews, investment evaluation, and regulatory impact assessments. The experts emphasized that budgeting should not merely serve as a financial record but as a strategic tool for directing resources toward national priorities.
“The workshop with Slovak experts was useful. Their experience in analyzing expenditure efficiency and the practical recommendations they shared were especially relevant for Uzbekistan. We intend to scale this expertise to improve the effectiveness of public spending,” said Shohruh Ishankulov, Deputy Director of the Budget Department at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The next step will be to summarize the findings from the mission and identify possible areas for improvement, based on the review of best international practices. “We hope that the result of our work and the discussions with our Uzbek partners will be actionable and effective recommendations, which will contribute to achieving SDG and green goals of Uzbekistan,” concluded Petroci.
Context
The mission was organized as part of the Public Finance for Development in Uzbekistan programme, launched in January 2025. Uzbekistan became the first Central Asian country to join the programme following its expansion to the region. The mission marked another step in deepening Slovak–Uzbek cooperation on public finance reform.
More about the project in Uzbekistan on the project website.
More about the mission in the press release by UNDP Uzbekistan.
