On May 12, 2025, a working meeting was held in Tashkent between representatives of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Karakalpakstan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Uzbekistan. The main focus of the meeting was the development of the “One Village – One Product” initiative, implemented within the framework of the UNDP project “The Project for Supporting Self-reliance through Climate-resilient Agriculture in the Aral Sea Region” funded by the Government of Japan.
The meeting was attended by project coordinators and facilitators, as well as representatives from both UNDP and JICA. During the meeting, Alisher Utemisov, Head of the UNDP Program in Karakalpakstan, gave a detailed presentation on the “One Village – One Product” initiative, which is currently being implemented in Karakalpakstan. This initiative aims to harness the unique local resources of each village to develop social entrepreneurship and improve the livelihoods of rural communities.
During the discussion, the parties exchanged views on the potential for scaling up the project, emphasized the importance of a localized approach, and explored opportunities for further collaboration between UNDP and JICA.
