World Bank Document

in areas where consensus or capacity was insufficient. Through the work on RESP2 and RESP2 

AF, the World Bank is helping the Government of Uzbekistan address the contentious issue of use 

of child and forced labor in the cotton sector. 

 

31. 

The assessment of risks that could have affected the WBG program was realistic, such 

as the tensions between Uzbekistan and its neighbors over regional issues—especially trans-

boundary energy and water resources, vulnerability of the Uzbek economy to external shocks, as 

well as insufficient political commitment required to advance further economic reforms, improve 

the investment climate, and greater disclosure of reliable economic, financial, and social data. The 

World Bank team appropriately addressed most of these risks through basin-wide consultations 

and transparent sharing of information and maintaining a continuous dialogue with the 

governments and key international agencies, as well as by continuous monitoring the 

macroeconomic situation in the country and the effects of the looming crisis in Russia. While the 

government has shown high commitment to continuing and widening the collaboration with the 

World Bank Group, the lack of reliable data continues to be an impediment to more comprehensive 

advance of reforms and assessment of its effects on poverty.