IMF forecasts GDP growth in oil countries of Caucasus and Central Asia

By Trend

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the annual GDP growth of Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries to reach at least four percent, Trend reports on Nov. 8 referring to the IMF's regional report on the Caucasus and Central Asia.

In accordance with the report, the GDP growth of oil exporting countries in the region, namely Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, along with Azerbaijan, will keep at 4.3 percent in 2019 and 4.4 percent in 2020.

The IMF calls relatively weak fiscal policy and growth in lending for the private sector as the internal causes of the economic growth. The external obstacles are the slowdown in global growth, a decrease in commodity prices and an increase in geopolitical risks.

At the same time, the average current account balance of the countries included in the report will remain at around 0.5 percent of the deficit in 2019 and one percent in 2020.

The IMF expects the current account surplus to reach $1.7 billion in Azerbaijan. The surplus is planned to greatly increase during the next three years. Thus, surplus worth $2.7 billion is expected to be observed in 2023.

The report said that the Caucasian and Central Asian countries shall make further efforts to stimulate higher and inclusive growth, create job places, improve living standards, sustainability and reduce exposure to the external shocks.