Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- In April 2022, the World Bank predicted a slowdown in the economy of Kyrgyzstan due to the situation in Ukraine. However, the forecast turned out to be erroneous - the country’s GDP not only did not decrease, but, on the contrary, rose significantly.

A year ago, the World Bank predicted a 5% decline in GDP and 18% inflation in Kyrgyzstan. But at the end of 2022, it was observed that the forecast was, to put it mildly, erroneous. In Kyrgyzstan, in fact, GDP growth amounted to 7%, and if we take into account the “shade”, then we can argue about an increase of 9%. Inflation in Kyrgyzstan on commodity items, as in other states, was observed, but in general it does not reach 18% unambiguously. At the same time, one can also see an acceleration of investments, and from very different countries: Turkey and Russia.

The authorities of Kyrgyzstan have taken seriously the collection of taxes and customs duties. Thanks to improved administration, digitalization and the fight against corruption, a lot has been brought out of the shadows.

The Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic has repeatedly reported that taxes have been collected from businesses and entrepreneurs much better. Therefore, schools, roads and other things are being built and reconstructed. Last year, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic was able to seriously increase the salaries of civil servants. This is all due to a number of important reasons, such as the return of Kumtor, which gave many times more money to the budget than it was before. Plus, the improved administration in the customs and tax systems has had a good effect - now the tax collects about the same amount per month as it previously collected per year. They are increasing trade with Turkey and especially with China, the growth is 30-40%. And since corruption has been largely suppressed, we receive more fees to the state budget.

An additional factor was the fact that there is a serious transfer of investments to Kyrgyzstan from different states, as Central Asia is becoming a new trade and logistics route in the "Greater Eurasia" - from China and Iran to Turkey.

Therefore, despite the World Bank forecast for 2022, Kyrgyzstan ended up much better. And it certainly wasn’t easy. The current government and President Sadyr Japarov have made great efforts to grow the economy, which includes the fight against corruption. If you look at the work of the State Committee for National Security, we see the disclosure of dozens of corruption schemes in all areas, including healthcare, education, and architecture.

That is, the work is actually being carried out, and every ordinary citizen is pleased to see that there is social and political security in the country. In Kyrgyzstan, stability has been lacking in recent decades, but now it is. And if there is stability and predictability of the authorities, then investors will be attracted and business will begin to invest more even in the obvious better tax administration. Everyone needs a stable zone, a protected zone of growth.”