Press Release No. 09/221

Press Release: Statement by IMF Managing Director Strauss-Kahn at the Conclusion of his Visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan

June 18, 2009

Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today in Tashkent during his visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan:

“I am very satisfied with my first visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan and thank the people of Uzbekistan, President Karimov, First Deputy Prime Minister Azimov, Governor of the Central Bank Mulladjanov and other senior officials for their hospitality and fruitful discussions. Our meetings focused on the challenges the country faces in its efforts to ensure sustainable growth. I also had valuable exchanges today with the members of the senate and representatives of media.”

“In my meeting with President Karimov, I welcomed the economy’s resilience to the global crisis, which reflects largely the authorities’ prudent policies that enabled them to accumulate considerable resources to support growth in this period. We discussed the longer-term priority for Uzbekistan which is to improve the standards of living of the population. We also exchanged views on the global crisis and the international economic situation that is likely to prevail after the crisis is over. In this context, we discussed the role of regional cooperation in an increasingly globalized world.”

“I assured that the IMF stands ready to support the Republic of Uzbekistan in its efforts to reduce the impact of the global crisis in the short term and strengthen the medium-term goal of sustaining higher and broad based economic growth.”