BAKU, Azerbaijan, Mar. 17
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
According to international standards, the external public debt of Uzbekistan remains at a moderate level despite the growth in recent years, the Minister of Finance Timur Ishmetov said during a briefing entitled "Public external debt: the direction of spending borrowed funds and the effectiveness of projects”, Trend reports citing the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan.
According to preliminary estimates, the external public debt in Uzbekistan as of January 1, 2021, amounted to $21.1 billion, or 36.5 percent of GDP (gross domestic product).
Ishmetov said that the borrowed funds received by the state are mainly directed to the development of the backbone sectors of the economy - energy, transport, engineering and telecommunications, chemical, education, agriculture, and healthcare.
In particular, at the end of 2020, 14.6 percent or $3.1 billion was directed to the electric power industry, 12.4 percent or $2.6 billion - to the oil and gas industry, 11.5 percent or $2.4 billion - to transport and transport infrastructure, 9.4 percent or $2 billion - in housing and communal services.
It was noted at the event that Uzbekistan adheres to a conservative approach and principles of risk management when attracting externally borrowed funds. In particular, the volume of debt funds attracted from international financial institutions and foreign government financial institutions amounted to $19.3 billion, provided for a long term (up to 30 years) and at preferential interest rates.
Also, Ishmetov stressed that the size of the signed loan agreements is decreasing every year - if in 2019 about $9 billion were attracted, then in 2020 this figure reached $5.3 billion. The established limit for the current year amounts to $5 billion.
Furthermore, the main creditors were named during the event which include are the Asian Development Bank ($5 billion), the World Bank ($3.7 billion), the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Eximbank of the PRC and the China State Development Bank ($2 billion each), international investors ($1.7 billion), the Fund for Economic Development and Cooperation and others ($1 billion), the Islamic Development Bank ($0.9 billion), the Japan Bank for International Cooperation ($0.4 billion), as well as other international financial organizations ($2.4 billion).
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