BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 9
By Ilkin Seyfaddini – Trend:
The Presidential Administration of Uzbekistan has launched the Telegram Bot – Help Business Uzbekistan, where entrepreneurs can send their proposals to support the economy during the coronavirus pandemic, Trend reports citing Uzbek media.
"Dear businessman! Here you can submit your proposals to the draft decisions of the President of Uzbekistan to ensure the stability of economic sectors during the quarantine period," the bot's description says.
Earlier, the World Bank published a forecast of the Central Asian economies, according to which Uzbekistan's gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 1.6 percent in 2020.
The forecast notes that the COVID-19 pandemic is a serious challenge for the Uzbek economy. Growth, according to the bank's experts, will sharply decline in 2020 as a result of a significant decline in foreign trade and domestic economic shocks. GDP growth is projected at 6.5 percent in 2021 and 5.5 percent in 2022.
Reduced tax revenues and additional expenditures to mitigate the crisis are expected to raise the budget deficit to 5.6 percent of GDP in 2020 and 4.7 percent in 2021.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has previously published a more optimistic forecast for Uzbekistan's economic growth. In its flagship annual economic publication Asian Development Review 2020, the ADB forecasts gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Uzbekistan at 4.7 percent in 2020, down from 5.6 percent 2020.
ADB forecasts GDP growth to 5.8 percent in 2021, as reforms will stimulate growth in agriculture, industry and services.
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