The bank widened the interest rate corridor to plus/minus 2 percentage points from plus/minus 1 percentage points.

The countries of Central Asia have reason to be concerned about Afghanistan in the wake of the Western withdrawal. Yet it remains unclear how they will mitigate the security risks, and what major power support to do this might look like.

The rate corridor was kept at plus or minus 1.0 percentage points. The rate on access operations to provide liquidity was set at 10.25 percent, and the rate on access operations to withdraw liquidity at 8.25 percent.

The IMF expects Uzbekistan’s economy to grow by 5 percent in 2021, but says that the recovery could be delayed by a resurgence of COVID-19 infections.