UN Women and the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan strengthened their partnership

14 May 2024 – Tashkent, Uzbekistan. On the sidelines of the Asian Women's Forum, held on 13–14 May 2024 in Samarkand, a significant milestone was achieved with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between UN Women and the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan. This marks a crucial step towards advancing gender equality and women's empowerment in Uzbekistan.

The Memorandum highlights the commitment to strengthen accountability mechanisms, aligning national gender equality policies with budgetary allocations. By prioritizing women’s economic empowerment and expanding their access to education and entrepreneurship, Uzbekistan reaffirms its dedication to create a more inclusive and equitable society.

The Memorandum was signed by the Regional Director of UN Women Europe and Central Asia, Belen Sanz Luke, and the Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance of Uzbekistan, Gulnara Rakhimova.

As Uzbekistan continues its journey towards gender equality, the signing of this Memorandum marks a significant way forward. It is a testament to the shared commitment of both parties to create a more just and equitable society for all.

The partnership between the Ministry of Economy and Finance and UN Women began with the adoption in 2021 of the Resolution of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On the Approval of the Strategy for Achieving Gender Equality in the Republic of Uzbekistan by 2030", which requires gender analyses of projects financed by the state and local budgets of Uzbekistan. This Resolution provides for incorporating gender aspects into project planning and implementation, and the gradual adoption of gender-responsive budgeting in fiscal processes.

The Memorandum sets out the following key objectives:

• Enhance the application of gender-responsive budgeting, ensuring that resources are allocated in a manner that promotes gender equality and addresses the specific needs of women and girls;
• Provide opportunities to learn from and share best practices in gender-responsive budgeting with other countries;
• Support the application of gender principles in defining the criteria for allocating state and local budget funds; and
• Cooperate on initiatives aimed at enhancing the accountability of public institutions in aligning national gender equality policies with corresponding budgetary allocations through gender-responsive budgeting.

This partnership is highly promising because it lays the groundwork for a fruitful collaboration between the Ministry of Economy and Finance and UN Women towards achieving these key objectives.