Kristalina Georgieva, director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), responding to a question about water shortages in Uzbekistan, said that a market price for tap water is needed to encourage water users to save water. “If we look at water as something we don’t need to value, it will be difficult to get good results,” she said.

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva visited Uzbekistan. On June 7, she met with students from Uzbekistan at the Central Bank.

Kristalina Georgieva, answering the students' question about solving the water problem in Central Asia, noted that the IMF pays attention to water management.

“First of all, we recommend that countries to focus on the correct pricing of this resource,” she said.

According to her, in the Central Asian region, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, using water sources in the downstream, have a unique opportunity based on a solid legal framework and cooperation.

“I was glad to hear about some joint projects representing the interests of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan. When you work together and invest in water resources together, you will get better results.

I would like to emphasize that the public must be informed about the value of water and the need to protect it. In addition, water management must be brought to the public level, as there is still much to be done to harvest rainwater. Then you need to make sure that the collected water is used as efficiently as possible,” the economist said.

She noted that although some work was already underway in Uzbekistan, more could be done, and the water market in Uzbekistan had not yet been formed.

“We need a comprehensive economic and political approach to water. The market price for water has not yet formed, and this is the reform that is ahead of you and must be implemented. This should be done very carefully, thinking about the social consequences. Uzbekistan currently scores well in terms of social protection, and the same social protection could be targeted at water. But I want to say that if we look at water as something that we do not need to appreciate, then it will be difficult to achieve good results,” said Kristalina Georgieva.