As of July 1, the total public debt of Uzbekistan amounted to $25.9 billion, of which $23.2 billion is the external debt of the state. Deputy Minister of Finance Odilbek Isakov informed about this at the plenary session of the Senate on August 4.

According to Isakov, the state debt is involved in the following directions:

•  for budget support – $6 billion;
•  fuel and energy industry – $5.6 billion;
•  transport and transport infrastructure – $2.5 billion;
•  agriculture and water industry – $2.4 billion;
•  housing and communal services – $2.2 billion;
•  to support business activities – $1.5 billion;
•  chemical industry – $1.1 billion;
•  to support education and healthcare – $700 million;
•  other strategic and socially important projects – $1 billion.

The deputy minister provided information about the sources from which the above debts will be paid off.

“Funds received for the purpose of budget support, social sphere and defense will be deducted from the state budget. This applies to both interest and the body of the loan.

However, the loans taken to support the economy, such as fuel and energy, transport, agriculture, entrepreneurship, were either re-credited or provided with a state guarantee. In both cases, the loan is paid directly to the overseas bank by the state-owned enterprise or banks interested in the project or through the Ministry of Finance. This will not burden the budget,” he said.