The World Bank’s former chief economist lost a bet to Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov over the country’s GDP growth. Japarov had confidently predicted that Kyrgyzstan’s economy would grow by more than 7% in the coming years and he won «a bottle of fine wine,» according to the news outlet Kaktus.media, citing Hugh Riddell, head of the World Bank’s office in Kyrgyzstan. Between January and November 2024, Kyrgyzstan’s GDP grew by an impressive 9%.
On Dec. 10, the World Bank presented the findings of its «Listening to the Kyrgyz Republic» survey to the head of Kyrgyzstan’s cabinet. During the meeting...