Wednesday, December 25 2019 20:21

ArmInfo. On December 20, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the first debriefing of the Stand-by loan agreement with  Armenia.

According to the official statement of the Central Bank of Armenia,  the Armenian authorities will continue the loan agreement until May  16, 2021, if there are no problems with the balance of payments as a  result of unforeseen economic shocks. The report recalls that the IMF  Executive Council on May 17 this year approved the provision of 180  million SDR to Armenia for 36 months (SDR - special drawing rights) -  this is about $ 248.2 million or about 139.75% of Armenia's quota in  the IMF.

Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of  the IMF Executive Board, noted that Armenia's economic performance is  strong with healthy growth, low inflation, a stable financial system  and improved external and tax buffers. In addition, he indicated that  the public debt remained in a downtrend, and Armenia is expected to  reach the medium-term target several years earlier than expected.   "This stimulating factor will allow us to direct more efforts towards  reforms in support of more balanced and inclusive growth, reduction  of poverty and unemployment," Furusawa said.

At the same time, he noted that, despite the overfulfillment of the  budget, maintaining the momentum of reforms is important from the  point of view of strengthening revenue, including for completing  reforms related to property taxation. In this context, acting IMF  Executive Board Chair noted that overfulfillment of the budget  recorded incomes above the expected level in Armenia and capital  expenditures below the expected.

According to him, the implementation of the reform agenda of the  authorities, including efforts to improve governance through the  creation of a comprehensive anti-corruption system, will strengthen  stable and inclusive economic growth. Monetary policy aimed at  ensuring price stability, as Furusawa emphasized, also contributes to  economic growth.

<The implementation of the Basel 3 measures by the authorities will  increase the stability of the financial system, while programs aimed  at developing the capital market and increasing financial  accessibility are also welcomed. In addition, the authorities  reaffirmed their commitment to protecting the most vulnerable sectors  of the population by expanding the social security network and  increasing its targeting. Steps aimed at strengthening human capital  and increasing women's participation in the labor market are key  points on the long-term structural agenda of the authorities>, he  said.

It should be noted that according to the IMF forecast, the GDP growth  of Armenia in 2019 will amount to 4.6%. Meanwhile, the recently  updated WB forecast for Armenia's GDP growth in 2019 improved to 6.9%  from the previous 5.5%. And according to actual statistical data, in  January-November 2019, acceleration in the-o-y growth of economic  activity in Armenia from 5.7% to 7.5% is already recorded.