Minister: The public debt management of Armenia will reach its peak in 2020

ArmInfo. In 2017, Armenia  intends to attract in total from $300mln to $350mln of the borrowed  money, the Minister of Economy of Armenia Vardan Aramyan told the  journalists after parliament meeting on February 9. 

According to him, the public debt management, which totaled $5.934bln  by the end of 2016, will reach its peak in 2020, when Armenia will  spent on it nearly $500mln. Nevertheless, the Minister thinks Armenia  continues to be a state with a low level of debt.Aramyan expressed  hope that by the results of negotiations with international  creditors, will be possible to alleviate the burden of external debt  service. Wherein, any rise in rates will not happen. "The rates do  not depend on external debt restructuring, but on what experiences  the international market", he said, adding the major part of the  funds will be spent on very concrete programs. 

According to him, the ratio of current account to GDP was 2.8% the  previous year, while it was 8% for a long time. For the state like  Armenia, it is considered to be 4-5%. "We have a rather good rate at  that background. When import decreases, declines the need of foreign  currency. And what about the public debt management, we must take to  consideration that our market is feed by various sources-export,  transfers, borrowed assets. I don't think that we will experience  pressure on national currency and its deval;uation in such  conditions", said the Minister.

2 days earlier he informed the journalists that by the results of  2016, the public debt of Armenia totaled $5.9bln, in 2017 it will  become $6.250bln. According to the Minister, in the structure of the  total debt, the state debt is $5.4bln, and the Central Bank debt will  amount nearly $503mln. The ratio of public debt to GDP in 2016 was  54.5%. As Vardan Aramyan informed, in 2017, in case of providing the  budget rates, the amount of public debt of Armenia is forecasted to  be on the level of $6.250bln, including the CB debt, which is  expected to be $530mln.