The French newspaper Le Figaro has published an article “Countries bypassing the crisis in 2020”, in which Uzbekistan was recognized as one of the few countries in the world to overcome the economic crisis in 2020 caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Uzbek Embassy in France told Kun.uz.

According to the article, the World Bank reported a 4% decline in world GDP. Only a handful of countries in the world have survived this unprecedented crisis caused by the pandemic last year and achieved economic growth in 2020.

Le Figaro correspondent Armelle Bohineust also noted that three Central Asian states, in particular Uzbekistan, have shown positive economic activity in 2020.

“As a result of prompt measures taken by the leadership, the economic crisis in the country has been averted and social spending and healthcare funds have increased. Also, according to the IMF, small and medium-sized enterprises have been greatly assisted in combating the COVID-19.

The President of the country has been carrying out drastic economic reforms to get out of the rigid management-based economic model that has dominated the country for several years until 2016,” the article reads.

For information, Le Figaro is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is the oldest national daily in France. In 2019, the paper had an average circulation of 321,116 copies per issue.