21.03.2020

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has created an anti-crisis Fund in the amount of 10 trillion soums ($1 billion 51 million) to counter the coronavirus pandemic in the country . It is stated in the decree on priority measures to mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 and the global crisis on the economy.

"Creating reserves to compensate for possible economic losses and ensuring macroeconomic stability should be the main task of the government," the President said at a video conference on March 19. Uzbekistan intends to borrow $1 billion from international financial institutions and other sources in 2020 to support the fund and the state budget.
Mirziyoyev explained that the fund will primarily be used to prevent the spread of coronavirus , provide medical institutions with medicines, protection and diagnostic items, cover quarantine costs on time, and equip hospitals in the regions with rapid testings. Almost 5,5 thousand medical workers have been pushed to the fight against coronavirus, and they will be paid additional 120 percent of their salary.
Support for entrepreneurs and social support will require significant expenses. Due to the epidemic, the risks of non-repayment of loans are growing, includng 90 billion soums ($9.4 million) in the hotel business, 650 billion soums ($68 million) in the transport and logistics sector, 180 billion soums ($18.9 million) in the catering sector, 3.6 trillion soums ($378 million) in foreign trade enterprises. Travel agencies and hotels continue to pay a tourist fee of $ 2-3 per day. A special part of expenditure is social protection. The number of recipients of social benefits will increase by 10% for employees of institutions closed for quarantine, citizens in quarantine, and workers taking care of them.
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