The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a payout of nearly $200 million to help the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th May, 2020) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a payout of nearly $200 million to help the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan deal with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The IMF Executive board approved a disbursement of US$189.5 million for budget support to help Tajikistan meet urgent balance of payments and fiscal needs stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic," the IMF said in a statement published on their website.
As things stand, Tajikistan's economy stands to shrink by about 2 percent while the budget deficit looks likely to increase by 7.7 percent of GDP, according to IMF estimates.
"The IMF's financial assistance under the RCF [Rapid Credit Fund] will provide a sizable share of the financing needed to implement the anti-crisis measures. Additional concessional and grant financing from the international community will be critical to close the remaining financing gap," Tao Zhang, IMF Deputy Managing Director, was quoted in the statement.
Zhang went on to underline Tajik authorities' commitment to prudent borrowing policies and exchange rate flexibility among a number of measures.
Tajikistan confirmed its first coronavirus cases only by late April, but its economy was already under heavy strain due to extensive precautionary measures and a virtual suspension in trade with neighboring trading partners in Russia and China.
The former-Soviet bloc nation currently counts under 400 cases of COVID-19 infection and eight fatalities.
