ADB said that challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic "underlined the need for economic diversification."

The Central Asian country's economy is state-controlled and the transition towards a market economy is slow relative to other former Soviet states.

The meeting will take place in Tashkent from August 31 to September 4 and will be attended by 57 IsDB governors.

The Uzbek government, historically very wary of the spread of radicalism from Afghanistan, offered conflicting reports last week about incidents involving an alleged collision between an Uzbek MiG-29 and a fleeing Afghan military plane.

In recent days, several incidents set off alarm bells in Tashkent over the sudden deterioration in the situation and a reluctance to let Afghani military absconders into Uzbekistan.