OREANDA-NEWS. October 27, 2009. The mission of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which consisted of Meg Landseyger, Agee Bakker, Amboise Faiola, Ho Jian Xiong, Thomas Moser and Klaus D. Stein, following the visit to Uzbekistan, held a press conference for local and foreign journalists, at which they noted the successes of the economic development of Uzbekistan in the conditions of the global financial crisis, reported the Official website gov.uz.

Speaking on behalf of the delegation, the executive director fr om Germany Klaus Stein said that the delegation had arrived in Tashkent from Istanbul, wh ere the main theme of the annual meeting of the IMF and the World Bank Group was the world economic crisis. According to him, the study and comparison of the impact of the crisis on the economies of different countries was one of the objectives of this mission’s visit to Uzbekistan.

Klaus Stein expressed appreciation for the opportunity to meet a variety of stakeholders in the country, including representatives of the public and the private sector.

Answering the reporters’ question on how the IMF assessed the anti-crisis program in Uzbekistan, Klaus Stein noted that “Uzbekistan has remained largely unaffected by the global economic crisis as a result of prudent policies, allowing the government to accumulate substantial resources required for growth in this period and be resistant to the crisis”.

“This is also the result of a conscious policy of participation in global financial markets, pursued by the authorities,” he said.

The IMF representative added that the government had developed a wide range of measures to stimulate the domestic demand. “We welcome these steps,” he said.

Regarding the forecasts of economic growth in 2009-2010, the executive director from Switzerland Thomas Moser said that according to the latest publication of the IMF about the world economic outlook, the expectations of the economic growth in Uzbekistan this year are 7-8%, and in 2010 this figure is projected at a level no lower than in 2009.

Klaus Stein also admitted that the view of the IMF in relation to Uzbekistan on a number of positions had changed, as the country could demonstrate the correctness of the pursued economic policies in the difficult conditions of the global financial crisis.

“The IMF’s view in terms of assessment of the economic policy in Uzbekistan, the pace of reforms, the policy of foreign borrowing, the state’s role in economic management and banking supervision in the recent years has largely changed. Undoubtedly, the global economic crisis, during which Uzbekistan has managed to prove the correctness of its economic policy, has contributed to this,” he stressed.

Concluding the press conference, Klaus Stein on behalf of the delegation said: “We support the continuation of the excellent relations of the IMF with the official authorities of Uzbekistan.”