“The reason for inflation of external debt is the attraction of new borrowings to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the crisis caused by the pandemic, and to finance government programs for the development of economic sectors and regions,” the Central Bank explained.

External debt consists of public and private ones. The first (public) amounted to $18.7 billion and grew by $2.9 billion, the second (private) amounted to $10.6 billion, up by $1.9 billion.

During the period under review, the principal and interest payments were repaid in the amount of $454.8 million and $263.4 million, respectively.

Payments on private external debt amounted to $1.3 billion in principal and $242.1 million in interest.