Uzbekistan aims for 2 pct GDP growth in 2020

Source: Xinhua | 2020-06-11

Uzbekistan plans to achieve a 2 percent growth of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, a senior Uzbek official said Wednesday, as international financial organizations have forecasted a modest 1.5 percent growth for the country this year.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has instructed the government to achieve a 2 percent or more GDP growth this year to overcome the difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov.

"We were also tasked to increase industrial output by 3.5 percent and we plan to achieve it by resuming operation of the enterprises closed during the quarantine, providing them with working capital and reviewing the (credit) rates," Kuchkarov said in a televised interview.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank said earlier that Uzbekistan's GDP growth was projected at 1.5 percent in 2020, despite the global economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

So far, Uzbekistan has registered 4,547 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 18 deaths and 3,475 recoveries.