Vardan Aramyan: 3.2% economic growth in 2017 is not a limit

ArmInfo. "We are still in the  scenario that envisages a 3.2% economic growth by the end of 2017 and  set a goal to ensure GDP growth in subsequent years by 4.8 and up to  5.7%," Armenian Finance Minister Vardan Aramyan said after the next  meeting Government.  Meanwhile, according to him, the government in  its forecasts takes into account the presence of risks in connection  with the emerging conjuncture in foreign markets and the general  state of the world economy.

Anyway, Aramyan stressed that the main trade and economic partners of  Armenia can ensure this year with good indicators, which inspires  optimism. Thus, according to him, in the Russian Federation, the  economy is forecasted to grow by 1.5-2% in 2017, while last year it  was about reaching 0.8%. "If these optimistic forecasts are  confirmed, this will have a positive impact on the Armenian economy,  and on ensuring a forecast growth of 3.2%," the minister said, noting  that, nevertheless, this bar will be achieved mainly through the use  of internal capacity of the country and government's management  efforts.

As the main factors of growth, Aramyan called last year's  expansionary fiscal policy, which with a certain time lag will  positively respond to the state of the economy and the business  climate. "At the micro level, we also continue to implement concrete  steps that stimulate economic activity," the minister stressed. As an  example, he cited government decisions on the deferral of VAT  payments by numerous economic entities, and those steps that are  aimed at stimulating foreign investment. According to the minister,  in the first quarter of this year, the volume of foreign direct  investment (FDI) increased by 30%, from AMD 14.9 billion to AMD 18.4  billion by the first quarter of the previous year. The  intensification of the economy led to an increase in tax deductions.  In April, 107.5 billion AMD were sent to the state treasury as taxes  and charges, an indicator that will allow the government to reach the  target bar by the end of the year to 1.157 trillion AMD.

To note, earlier, in an exclusive interview with ArmInfo, the  Minister of Finance noted that economic growth includes, among other  things, the inertial nature and reforms carried out by the government  over the past years, naturally affect the current state of the  economy and give rise to optimistic forecasts. Therefore, the  minister believes, in the medium term, Armenia has the right to claim  much higher rates of economic growth. "We should not forget that  besides the basic fundamental factors, the measures and actions that  are capable of forming positive expectations among the public are  very important," Vardan Aramyan emphasized, noting that the level of  achieving 3.2% GDP growth this year is not a limit.