The volume of money remittances to Uzbekistan increased by 25% in January-June 2024, the governor of the Central Bank Mamarizo Nurmuratov said this at a press conference today.
The volume of remittances topped $6.5 billion (in January-June 2023 it was $5.2 billion). This is more than double the preliminary forecasts of the Central Bank in December and April (expected 11-12% instead of the current 25%).
According to him, the expansion of the geography of labor migration and the diversification of cash receipts is ongoing. In particular, Russia’s share decreased from 81-82% in 2022 to 77% - $4.95 billion.
“There is a decrease from Russia, we see this in the number of remittances. We see not only the amount, but also for what amount and what number of transactions are made, there is also a decrease there,” said Mamarizo Nurmuratov.
Receipts from Kazakhstan increased to $347 million, from the USA - 271 million (+43%), South Korea - $267.3 million (+90%). In addition, the influx of remittances from Germany (+64%) and Poland (+93%) increased.
In 2022, Russia’s share in remittances was about 87%, and in 2023 it decreased to 78%.
Last year, the World Bank noted a gradual decline in the volume of remittances from Russia to Uzbekistan. This was explained by a reduction in the number of Uzbek labor migrants in the Russian Federation, the strengthening of the soum against the ruble, as well as rising inflation in Russia.
In January, the president Shavkat Mirziyoyev instructed to organize the training of about 100 thousand Uzbeks for employment in foreign countries through centralized recruitment. Later, the Agency for External Labor Migration announced a recruitment for 50 thousand vacancies for jobs in Germany, as well as in South Korea, Poland, the UK and other countries. New measures are also being adopted to support and train migrant workers.
