ArmInfo. The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Central Bank of Armenia entered into a loan agreement of 50 million euros for financing SMEs. This was reported to ArmInfo in the press service of the Central Bank of Armenia.
According to the source, the loan will be provided to the Central Bank, which will ensure the availability of SMEs to these funds. Under this program, loans will mainly be provided for projects aimed at promoting export, tourism, agriculture, and agricultural processing.
Central Bank Chairman Arthur Javadyan stressed: "Credit programs financed by the European Investment Bank play a special role in increasing the availability and attractiveness of credit resources in Armenia. These programs orient local businesses towards competitive and sustainable development, and in green mediators introduce a culture of" green "financing ".
This program is the third private sector financing initiative. In the framework of cooperation between the EIB and the Central Bank of Armenia, from 2014 to the present day, funding has been provided to SMEs for programs with a total value of 100 million euros. The long-term partnership with the EIB demonstrates the confidence of this European structure in the financial sector of Armenia.
Note that the EIB is the Bank of the European Union. As part of the Eastern Partnership, the European Investment Bank has provided 8 billion euros to finance programs for the development of the private sector, socio-economic infrastructures and climate change.
According to the RA Statistics Committee, as of July 1, 2018, Armenia's debt to the EIB is $ 232.5 million, with a 1.9% decline in half a year. In the structure of Armenia's external debt, 4.3% accounted for EIB.