President Sadyr Japarov refuted claims that Kyrgyzstan’s external debt has risen to $7 billion in an interview with Kabar news agency.
According to him, the country’s debt remains at $4.5 billion, and information about its increase is being spread by «unemployed or fugitive politicians» in order to discredit the government.
Sadyr Japarov noted that the authorities were afraid of external debt until 2020. Now the financial situation in the republic has improved significantly. If in 2020 the budget was about 250 billion soms, and the GDP was 700 billion, now the budget has reached 700 billion soms, and the GDP has exceeded 1.5 trillion soms.
Gold and foreign exchange reserves have also increased — from $2 to $6 billion. In addition, the National Bank has accumulated 60 tons of gold, compared to only 16 tons in 2020.
The President emphasized that the country can repay its external debt at any time, but there is no point in doing so ahead of schedule, since the loans are taken at 2 percent per annum for 30-40 years. Early repayment will require additional interest payments.
Because the party that provides the loan issues money with the understanding that it will return it in 30-40 years. We will repay the debt according to the schedule and will fully settle the debt by 2035. External debt is not a problem for us.
Sadyr Japarov
He also added that the domestic debt is repaid in the national currency and does not pose a threat to the economy, as the government has various mechanisms to manage it.
