Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 24 August this year, a working meeting was held by videoconference under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction of the Republic of Uzbekistan Jamshid Kuchkarov with representatives of the International Monetary Fund, headed by the head of the IMF mission in Uzbekistan - Ron Van Ruden.

The meeting was also attended by the leadership of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank, as well as the heads of the State Committee of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Statistics and the Agency for State Assets Management.

At the beginning of the meeting, a discussion of the current economic situation in Uzbekistan, macro-fiscal forecasts took place. The parties exchanged views on the further development of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the International Monetary Fund.

They also discussed the impact of the pandemic on the state budget, the main problems faced by Uzbekistan as a result of the spread of coronavirus infection, as well as the measures taken by the country’s government to resolve them.

It was noted that in January-June of this year, real GDP grew by 0.2% compared to the same period of last year, which was due to an increase in gross value added in agriculture by 2.8%, construction by 7.3%, and a decrease in the GVA of industry and services by 1.9 and 0.7%, respectively. At the same time, GDP growth by the end of 2020 is expected at the level of 1.5-2.0%.

The Uzbek side provided information on measures taken in the field of social protection of the population, as well as support for business entities. It was noted that at the moment there is an active support for entrepreneurship, the implementation of reforms in agriculture, tax and banking systems continues, work processes in the industrial and construction sectors have been restored, which is a priority for stabilizing the economy.

In turn, Ron Van Ruden noted that the state package of measures implemented in Uzbekistan allows maintaining the pace of economic growth. He also stressed that Uzbekistan’s public debt remains relatively low. The Head of the IMF Mission outlined the importance of fiscal consolidation in order to achieve the sustainability of fiscal policy and expressed readiness to provide advice and technical support from the Fund.