The Banking and Finance Academy (BFA) of the Republic of Uzbekistan is a higher education institution which was established in 1996 with the aim of improving Uzbekistan’s financial, fiscal and tax policies and administration to an international level. Since the foundation of the BFA, the Policy Research Institute (PRI) has provided the BFA with various forms of assistance as part of its intellectual support of human resource development in Uzbekistan, including recommending and sending the First Pro-Rector of the BFA (part-time), accepting BFA students for seminars held in Japan, as well as delivering special lectures at the BFA.
   From March 15 to 23, 2013, the PRI delegation visited Uzbekistan. The PRI President Hayashi had meetings with high-ranking government officials, including Mr. Azimov, the First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, in which opinions were exchanged on the further development of cooperation between Japan and Uzbekistan. Moreover, President Hayashi met with Prof. Bekmuradov, the Acting Rector of the BFA, and several BFA graduates, and had discussions about the future of the PRI’s support of the BFA. PRI Senior fellow Shigeo Kashiwagi (Professor at Keio University’s Graduate School), who is the current First Vice-Rector of the BFA, accompanied President Hayashi on his visit, with a view to holding the selection interviews of applicants from the BFA for the “Summer Seminar for Central Asian and Caucasian Countries 2013.”

1. Meeting with Mr. Azimov, the First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance

   Mr. Azimov expressed his view that PRI’s support of the BFA was greatly contributing to human resource development in financial and fiscal areas in Uzbekistan. In response, President Hayashi explained that the PRI would continue to request concrete results, since Japan was in a tight fiscal situation and more efficient use of the budget was being requested. Furthermore, he explained that policy transparency was necessary for the expansion of Japanese companies into Uzbekistan.

2. Selection interviews of applicants from the BFA in the “Summer Seminar for Central Asian and Caucasian Countries 2013”

   For students hoping to participate in the “Summer Seminar for Central Asian and Caucasian Countries 2013” that is planned to be held in the summer of this year, we had interviews in English. We examined the themes and contents of the policy paper.

 

【Scene from Dissertation Defenses】

4.Visits to Related Organizations

    In our visits to related organizations, we had meetings to exchange opinions about the economic situation in Uzbekistan, as well as outcomes and challenges regarding human resource development at the BFA.