Interfax
November 13

Uzbekistan's cooperation with the International Monetary Fund has been especially fruitful over the past 18 months, Uzbek President Islam Karimov said at a meeting with IMF deputy managing director Shigemitsu Sugisaki on Thursday, an official in the presidential press service told Interfax.

Uzbekistan puts a great deal of emphasis on expanding cooperation with the IMF and highly values the support provided by the international financial organization to the country's reforms, Karimov said.

The 2002-03 plan to make the Uzbek national currency convertible in current international transactions has been fulfilled, Karimov said. "As a consequence, the sum has been convertible since October 15 in terms of Clause VIII of the Articles of the IMF Agreement," he said.

The two men exchanged views on expanding Uzbekistan's cooperation with international financial organizations, in particular the IMF, in an effort to continue economic reform in Uzbekistan.

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