BAKU, Azerbaijan, Oct. 20
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Kazakhstan has also improved the quality of the financial system which has shown value during the COVID-related crisis, Director for the Middle East and Central Asia Department at International Monetary Fund (IMF) Jihad Azour said, Trend reports citing IMF.
Azour noted that Kazakhstan has been successful in managing the double whammy shock of the COVID‑19, as well as the drop in oil price being an important player in the oil and gas scene internationally.
“Authorities have introduced a certain number of measures to protect lives through social distancing, through testing and tracking. In addition, the authorities have introduced a certain number of fiscal measures and support to the economy through liquidity measures from the central bank. And they have resorted to greater flexibility in the exchange rate in order to protect the economy from the external and exogenous shocks,” he said.
Azour also added that recently, the president of Kazakhstan has outlined the agenda for structural reforms for the coming years.
“And this agenda goes in the right direction in promoting through structural reforms, the capacity for Kazakhstan to attract additional investment, to provide support to small-and-medium-sized enterprises. And also, to promote fast-growing sectors like technology, like other sectors that can boost growth going forward. Recently, Kazakhstan has also improved the quality of the financial system. And this has shown it, I would say, value during this crisis,” Azour said.
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