French Development Agency to provide € 150 million to support the budget expenditures of Uzbekistan

The French Development Agency (AFD) will provide 150 million euros to support the budget expenditures of Uzbekistan. The draft presidential decree, developed by the Ministry of Finance, was published on November 28.

The draft document states that on November 22 the board of directors of the AFD approved a loan of 150 million euros to Uzbekistan for budget support. The loan was provided in the framework of the “Economic Management Improvement Program” project, developed with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The loan is to be paid back in 20 years, with a six-year grace period.

In July, Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Finance Jamshid Kuchkarov reported that the World Bank and ADB provided Uzbekistan with $ 800 million for budget support. According to him, the government intends to optimize the use of the loans provided in order to prevent a budget deficit in the short term.