IMF forecasts moderate growth for Kyrgyzstan

2 July 2019 18:57 (UTC+04:00)

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By Abdul Kerimkhanov

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed consultations with Kyrgyzstan and predicts a moderate economic growth up to 4 percent in the country in 2019.

“It is expected that in 2019 the growth rate will moderately increase due to gold mining and budget expansion and will reach 4 percent in the medium term,” reads the IMF final document.

IMF analysts note that the risks are still shifted towards a slowdown mainly due to the impact of tensions in the trade sphere on the regional economic conditions.

The report says that in the economy of 2018, there was moderate growth at the level of 3.5 percent, core inflation dropped to 1.5 percent, while the current account deficit in the balance of payments decreased to 8.7 percent of GDP in Kyrgyzstan.

The IMF also noted that the strength of the banking sector of Kyrgyzstan has increased, but the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan has taken an unusual step by acquiring a troubled bank.

The IMF is an organization of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

The IMF's primary purpose is to ensure the stability of the international monetary system - the system of exchange rates and international payments that enables countries and their citizens to transact with each other.

Kyrgyzstan joined the Fund on May 8, 1992.

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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94