On the sidelines of the Tashkent International Investment Forum, Minister of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change Aziz Abdukhakimov met Hela Cheikhrouhou, IFC Vice President for the Middle East, Central Asia, Türkiye, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the ministry reported on 4 May 2024.

The talks noted the potential of geothermal energy to minimise electricity and natural gas consumption and to support a long-term move to a new model of energy consumption, the ministry said. The Uzbek side proposed studying an energy supply project for New Tashkent together with leading IFC experts.