Tajikistan seeks IMF emergency assistance - Fund

Tajikistan has applied for the International Monetary Fund's emergency financing, becoming the second Central Asian nation to do so amid the global crisis prompted by the novel coronavirus outbreak, an IMF executive told Reuters on Wednesday. "Authorities in Tajikistan have requested access to the facility," Jihad Azour, director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department, said referring to the fund's quick-access assistance programmes.

Azour said the former Soviet republic - which has so far confirmed no coronavirus cases on its soil - could potentially receive the equivalent of its IMF quota which stands at about $240 million. Neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, which has already received $121 million from the fund, has asked to double the sum fully utilising its own quota, Azour said by telephone from Washington.