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Developing Innovative Business Models with AI in Uzbekistan
On May 27-28, 2025, ADB’s Law and Policy Reform (LPR) Program organized a transformative two-day training program titled "Developing Innovative Business Models with AI in Uzbekistan" in Tashkent. Organized in collaboration with the Graduate School of Business and Entrepreneurship, the event brought together stakeholders from government, academia, industry leaders, and tech sector experts to explore the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in driving Uzbekistan's digital transformation.
The Law and Policy Reform (LPR) Program at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) supported the Fourth International Legal Forum "Tashkent Law Spring" convened on 29-30 May 2025, organized by Uzbekistan Ministry of Justice with contributions from various partners.
In partnership with Timorese police, ADB trained 119 police officers to improve the treatment of women and children participating in police investigations. ADB experts taught the proper use ADB-donated digital recorders, trauma-sensitive questioning, and applicable legal and socio-cultural protocols to the police officers, enabling them to obtain admissible testimony with the least amount of distress to survivors and witnesses. A key part of ADB’s broader support to justice-sector reform in Timor-Leste, this initiative aims to improve access to justice and safeguard vulnerable voices.
ADB has been working with the Timor-Leste government to make justice more accessible for victim-survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) since 2021. On 25 April 2025, ADB supplied audio recorders and privacy dividers to prosecutors, and judicial and police officers, enabling them to interview victims-survivors and witnesses of GBV—especially women and girls—in a manner that better respects their privacy, reducing the emotional trauma caused by questioning. ADB also provided judges with a knowledge resource on adjudicating GBV cases and on reducing the difficulties faced by women and girls in the formal justice system.
The Luxembourg government commended the Islamic Finance for the Philippines Technical Assistance (TA) as a model initiative in a meeting with representatives of ADB and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on 10 April 2025. This USD 1.1 million TA, implemented from 2017 to 2024, has achieved significant milestones. Key accomplishments include the enactment of Republic Act No. 11439 (the Islamic Banking Law), the issuance of a USD 1 billion sovereign sukuk on Nasdaq Dubai, training of over 1,700 professionals, and licensing of Islamic banking and insurance providers.