World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Laura Tuck visited Uzbekistan last week, her first visit to the country since becoming regional vice president in September.

The visit focused on the World Bank's ongoing partnership with Uzbekistan as well as priorities going forward. During the visit, Tuck held discussions with high-level government officials and visited a health project supported by the bank.

"We are pleased to see that Uzbekistan has demonstrated strong growth in the last several years, and that living standards of people in the country have clearly improved. We appreciate our long-term cooperation with Uzbekistan, which aims to ensure that the growth is sustainable and its benefits are shared across the population," Tuck said.

As part of the trip, Tuck also visited one of the primary healthcare clinics in Tashkent that participated in the World Bank-financed Health II Project, aimed at improving the quality and overall cost effectiveness of healthcare services in Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan joined the World Bank in 1992. The bank's current commitments to Uzbekistan amount to more than $1 billion.