This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Jamshid Kuchkarov.

“On May 18, 2020, the Board of Directors of the International Monetary Fund approved a loan of $375 million to Uzbekistan to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on the economy,” he said.

Earlier, the State Statistics Committee reported that in January-March 2020, GDP growth in Uzbekistan slowed to 4.1% compared to 5.7% in January-March 2019 and 5.6% in January-March 2018.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) predicts Uzbekistan’s GDP growth at 1.5% in 2020 due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Central Bank of Uzbekistan, according to preliminary estimates, expects a 1.5-2.5% slowdown in the country’s GDP growth in the context of the pandemic.