BAKU, Azerbaijan, Dec. 10
By Fakhri Vakilov-Trend:
Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the law on the state budget for 2020 with a deficit of 0.5 percent of GDP, or $356.6 million, Trend reports citing Uzbek media.
The document approved the parameters of the consolidated budget of Uzbekistan for 2020 and budget guidelines for 2021–2022 (not yet published), prepared on the basis of the forecast of the main macroeconomic indicators of the country's development for 2020, and targets for 2021–2022.
The amount of the reserve fund of the Cabinet of Ministers for 2020 was set at $76.6 billion. The reserve funds of the budget of Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, regional budgets of regions and the city budget of the city of Tashkent, budgets of districts and cities for 2020 are formed in the amount of not less than 1.5 percent of the total expenses of the respective budgets.
In accordance with the document, it is planned to ensure the budget revenues in the amount of 20 percent of GDP, or $13.4 billion, expenditures - 20.5 percent of GDP, or $13.7 billion.
Benchmarks for the budget deficit for 2021 are 0.2 percent of GDP (about $150 million) with access to a surplus budget in 2022 in the amount of 0.2 percent.
According to the Ministry of Finance, in order to cover the state budget deficit in 2020, in addition to internal sources, again, as in 2019, it is planned to attract soft loans from international financial institutions worth over $450 million.
The parameters of the state budget 2020 were approved taking into account the planned growth of GDP by 5.5 percent next year compared with 2019, inflation - by 12.5 percent of industrial production - 6.5 percent, agricultural products - 4 percent, capital investments - not less than 10 percent.
The government also predicts a 5.8 percent increase in GDP in 2021, a 6.2 percent increase in 2022, and inflation decline to 11 percent and 9.5 percent, respectively.
In case of failure to fulfill the forecast of the budget revenues for six months and the lack of sufficient reasons for their receipt by the end of the current financial year, costs of 3 percent or more of the total republican budget are reduced by the chambers of the Parliament on the proposal of the Cabinet of Ministers. Moreover, less than 3 percent of total budget expenditures - based on a decision of the Cabinet of Ministers on the proposal of the Ministry of Finance.
For 2020, a ceiling has been set for the total amount of newly signed agreements on attracting external borrowing on behalf of Uzbekistan or under a government guarantee of $4 billion.
The limit on the development of external borrowing for 2020, attracted on behalf of Uzbekistan for the implementation of state targeted programs and repaid from the state budget in the amount of $1.5 billion, was approved.
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