The countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia are showing significant economic resilience driven by robust growth and capital inflows, Assistant Director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department Roberto Cardarelli said during the presentation of the International Monetary Fund's regional economic outlook for the Middle East and Central Asia held in Uzbekistan, Report informs.
According to the fund's representative, IMF data indicate that economic growth in most countries of the region remains at a fairly high level.
"The exceptions are Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, where there is a certain slowdown associated with the dynamics of oil exports, while oil imports are maintained at a high level - comparable to the figures for the first half of the current year or even exceeding the values of the second half of last year. In Armenia, economic growth also remains stable and robust, despite a slight slowdown," Cardarelli noted.
The IMF representative outlined two main factors ensuring the region's resilience. The first of them is remittances, the volumes of which continue to remain significant. The second factor is real credit growth, adjusted for inflation, which demonstrates stability and strength in a number of the region's economies. In addition, the economies are supported by large financial flows.
According to him, following the outbreak of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, substantial volumes of financial and human capital headed to the region, and the amounts of remittances also increased. The expert called these trends positive spillover effects of the war, while emphasizing the paradoxical nature of such phrasing in the context of ongoing hostilities.