Christine Lagarde issued a statement after a meeting with Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in New York on 19 September 2017.

“It was a pleasure to meet President Mirziyoyev and his delegation. Uzbekistan’s authorities are embarking on ambitious reforms, spearheaded by the recent foreign exchange reform. We very much welcome these initiatives, which are vital to strengthening the economy, creating more jobs, and achieving sustainable and inclusive growth,” the statement reads.

“I congratulated President Mirziyoyev on his initiatives to improve regional cooperation with Uzbekistan’s neighbors. Regional cooperation is much needed to deal with the region’s biggest challenges, such as sharing water resources, creating an efficient regional energy grid, and facilitating transportation,” she said.

“Uzbekistan’s reform journey will be challenging and long. I reiterated the Fund’s commitment to partner with Uzbekistan in its journey to put the economy on a higher growth path and achieve better living standards for its people,” the IMF concluded.