Uzbekistan has embarked on significant reforms since early 2017, aiming to improve the lives of ordinary citizens, enable business development, and open up to neighbors. The scale of changes is unprecedented. The new government aspires to modernize the country and to move it toward upper middle-income status. The formulation of the country partnership strategy (CPS) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is timely for supporting this reform agenda through investment financing, policy support, and capacity development.

We investigated wheat price relationships between the import-dependent countries in Central Asia and the South Caucasus and the Black Sea wheat exporters to assess wheat market efficiency. This is crucial for ensuring availability and access to wheat and for reducing food insecurity. Results from linear and threshold error correction models suggested a strong influence of trade costs on market integration in Central Asia, while those costs were of minor importance in the South Caucasus.

En este artículo se explora si los conflictos socioecológicos vinculados a procesos de desposesión por inversiones turístico-residenciales pueden ser analizados desde la perspectiva de la visión que construyen estos sectores de su relación con el turismo. Se analiza el caso concreto de Guanacaste, Costa Rica, donde se ha experimentado una gran intensidad tanto en el desarrollo de la inversión turística como en los conflictos ecológicos por el agua, entre las comunidades rurales y las inversiones en turismo residencial apoyadas por el Estado.

This paper shares findings from new research on gender and land in a pastoralist community in central- western Mongolia, with a complex structure of investment and operations in gold mining. The paper examines what has been learned from the research about people's coping strategies in the face of social and environmental change, specifically in the context of the development of mining since the transition from socialism and in a relatively isolated area.

This Guide provides an entry point to understanding and implementing the principles of responsible governance of land tenure set out in the VGGT for companies involved in land-based investment. It provides a more manageable presentation of the VGGT, along with steps to ensure that a company acts consistently with them and includes thorough due diligence on the tenure rights of project-affected communities.

This publication helps guide investment planning and financing across key urban infrastructure sectors of Azerbaijan. It aims to improve the performance of cities—with a focus on economy, equity, and environment. The National Urban Assessment for Azerbaijan is among a series prepared by ADB for selected developing countries under its Urban Operational Plan 2012–2020.

Defenders of Indigenous land in Malaysia are targeted, singled out and face opposition from state authorities and private individuals when they speak up. These abuses have further disenfranchised Indigenous communities in Malaysia, marginalising them socially and harming them economically. The report examines the struggles human rights defenders of Indigenous peoples have endured as they have sought to claim their right to Indigenous lands, and the steps that should be taken by the government to ensure that they are given the protection they deserve.

textabstractChina tends to be a dominant figure in the literature on global land grabbing. It is either cast as a major land grabber in distant places such as Africa, or as a key player in crop booms elsewhere because it provides for massive market demand, such as for soya from South America. These are all important issues and are well covered in the literature. However, the crop booms inside China that involve transnational capital and investors – and have provoked conflict around land politics – have been overlooked.

This note is part of an Action Notes series and provides examples of tools that government agencies can adapt to their national context and use to develop the technical capacity to screen and select investors.

A Guide to the Taxation Incentives for Business & Investment in Papua New Guinea PNG Internal Revenue Commission

After the fall of the Soviet Union and regaining its independence, Armenia has begun a process of systemic transformation. The level and pace of socio-economic development has been influenced by internal situation as well as by country’s geopolitical position and its relations with foreign partners. The purpose of this article is to present general characteristics of foreign direct investment that has been present in Armenia since the 1990s. The author describes several key factors shaping the volume, geographical, proprietary and sectoral structure of the FDI inflows.