Press Release No. <a name="P16_75"></a>03/188

IMF members accepting those obligations notably undertake to refrain from imposing restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions, and not to engage in, or permit any of their fiscal agencies to engage in, any discriminatory currency arrangements or multiple currency practices, except with IMF approval.

A total of 157 of the IMF's 184 members have now accepted the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2(a), 3, and 4.

By accepting the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2(a), 3, and 4, Uzbekistan signals to the international community that it will pursue economic policies that will make restrictions on the making of payments and transfers for current international transactions unnecessary, and will contribute to a multilateral payments system free of restrictions.

Uzbekistan joined the Fund on September 1, 1992. Its quota¹ is SDR 275.60 million (equivalent to about US$396 million). Uzbekistan's outstanding financial obligations to the IMF amounted to SDR 33.25 million (equivalent to about US$48 million) as of September 30, 2003.

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¹A member's quota in the IMF determines, in particular, the amount of its subscription, its voting weight, its access to IMF financing and its share of the allocation of SDRs.