Bishkek, May 10. Kyrgyzstan celebrated the 10 years anniversary of its post-Soviet national currency (Som) today. President Askar Akayev, Prime Minister Nikolai Tanayev, and other government members, representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and other international financial institutions, attended an international conference devoted to the anniversary. President Akayev told the gathered that introduction of the national currency in May 10, 1993, was the only way to deal with the problems after a collapse of the previous Soviet monetary and financial systems. Kyrgyzstan was the first Central Asian country to reform its monetary system and to introduce its own national currency. Kyrgyz government managed to cut annual inflation from 920 percent to 2 – 3 percent within the decade, Akayev emphasized it, praising the monetary reforms in Kyrgyzstan. Eduardo Aninat, Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, told the conference that the Kyrgyz government succeeded in macro-economy reforms. The Kyrgyz Som is a strongest currency in the region now.