BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 16. Uzbekistan is one of the largest recipients of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) capacity development assistance, an IMF spokesperson told Trend.
According to the source, the IMF’s capacity development assistance supports Uzbekistan’s transformation from a state-led to a market-oriented economy, including by adopting international best practices. The authorities’ ownership of reforms has driven the Fund’s engagement in capacity development.
"Recent IMF capacity development has focused on tax policy, revenue administration, debt management, and public financial management; macro-forecasting; monetary and FX operations, central bank accounting, communications, and internal risk management; emergency liquidity assistance, macroprudential policy, and bank stress testing; balance of payments, national accounts, prices, and government finance statistics," the fund spokesperson said.
The representative of the fund noted that the IMF Board has just concluded the 2024 Article IV consultation, which involved an in-depth analysis of Uzbekistan’s economic policies, performance, and vulnerabilities—including still-high inflation, climate change, and geopolitical tensions. A Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), planned for 2024–2025, will conduct a comprehensive and in-depth assessment of Uzbekistan’s financial sector.
"The authorities have made significant progress in advancing their policy and reform agenda. However, there are still challenges to address, including reducing the role of the state, accelerating the development of a vibrant private sector that can create more jobs, and bringing down inflation," the spokesperson emphasized.
Meanwhile, the IMF projects Uzbekistan’s real GDP growth rate at 5.4 percent in 2024 and 5.5 percent in 2025.
The IMF anticipates that Uzbekistan’s real GDP will stand at 5.5 percent in 2028.