The Energy Ministry said that oil production was still below 718,000 bpd produced in October 2018, when members of OPEC+ agreed to reduce oil production gradually.

IMF projects 7.0 percent growth in 2021, underpinned by the global economic recovery, strong industrial activity, and domestic demand spurred on by public investment.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, accused by Western countries of masterminding a humanitarian calamity on his country’s border with Poland, proposed sending to Germany some of the thousands of migrants stranded there, but Germany and the European Union immediately rejected the proposed scheme.

Almost 74 percent of job creators in the populous Central Asian nation are small businesses, and more than 60 percent of jobs are located in rural areas.