The Japanese Ambassador to Uzbekistan Yoshinori Fujiyama and the Finance Deputy Minister Odilbek Isoqov signed exchange notes totaling 15 billion yen (US$ 136.5 million) on March 26, the Embassy said.
This cash, with an interest rate of 0.01% and a maturity of 15 years, of which 4 years are grace period, is provided to Uzbekistan to financially support its response to the COVID-19 crisis.
The purpose of the emergency loan is to contribute to social and economic stability and sustainable development of Uzbekistan, which have sustained serious damage due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Due to the coronavirus pandemic, economic and social activities such as humanitarian exchanges and logistics are stagnating globally. This is a problem on which the entire international community, including Japan, must work together to overcome the adverse impact and lead to development after the end of the pandemic,” the Embassy added.
As reported earlier, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was ready to provide another US$ 195 million-dollar loan to Uzbekistan for the implementation of the project "Supporting the transition policies to a transparent and broad market economy in Uzbekistan" for 25 years with a grace period of 7 years at a rate of Libor (six months) plus 1.1% per annum.
Uzbekistan’s state debt as of January 1, 2021 topped US$ 23.3 billion, or 40.4% to the gross domestic product. The Japanese International Cooperation Agency is one of the country's largest creditors, to which Uzbekistan owes US$ 2 billion.
