Bishkek, May 16, 2023. / Kabar /. President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov in his interview with Kabar News Agency told about the country’s external debt and its servicing.
According to his data, as of March 31, 2023, the external debt of the state amounted to USD 4.5 billion.
“Now we have the opportunity to pay off the external debt. But it is important to note that in general, all loans taken by the state are facilitated loans from 20 to 40 years with 0.75% and 2% rates. According to the signed agreement when these loans were taken, in case of early repayment, we must pay additional interest. In this regard, it is unprofitable for us to repay all the debt ahead of time. Now we are paying off our foreign debt without delay, we have all the conditions for this. There is nothing to cause concern. To date, we have begun to pay off the largest part of all external and internal debt,” President Zhaparov said.
He noted that today, Kyrgyzstan is paying off the largest portion of its foreign debt since independence. “If all the money that we allocate to servicing the external debt were sent to social and other needs, then now we would have done a hundred times more useful,” he added.
The president stressed that the External Debt Service Strategy stipulates that external debt should not exceed 70% of GDP. “We had times when external debt exceeded GDP. By the way, in 1999 the external debt in relation to GDP rose to 133%. In 2020, the level of external debt in relation to GDP reached 68%. Currently, the level of external debt in relation to GDP has fallen to 53%. This indicates that the level of external debt is now stable and growth rates are observed in the state economy,” the Kyrgyz president said.
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