OREANDA-NEWS. May 13, 2010. Mr. Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement in Tashkent at the conclusion of his visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan:

“This is my first visit to Uzbekistan as Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, and I wish to thank the Government and the Central Bank of Uzbekistan for their warm hospitality and the productive discussions on the state of the Uzbek economy. During this visit I also participated in the Annual Meetings of the Asian Development Bank. This was a good opportunity to exchange views with a wide range of representatives from private and public sectors on the reform of the global monetary system as well as on enhancing regional cooperation in Asia.

“Uzbekistan has remained resilient to the global economic crisis largely because of the authorities’ prudent policies, which have enabled them to accumulate considerable resources to support growth in this period. A very cautious approach to borrowing on global financial markets also limited the country’s exposure to the global crisis. With the global recovery and improved regional conditions, output is expected to continue growing at a healthy pace in 2010.”

“Uzbekistan’s strong fiscal and external position provides an excellent opportunity to further improve its great economic potential and the living standards of the population.”

“We look forward to continuing our excellent relations with the Uzbek authorities.”