Saturday, May 16 2020 13:50

ArmInfo.According to the results of 2020, a 2% decline in Armenia's GDP is expected. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced this on May 16 at a press  conference in Yerevan.

According to him, the decline is due to the consequences of  coronavirus, but, nevertheless, there are opportunities to end the  year on a higher note. <We will be focused on work, there are  opportunities to end this year with good results>, the head of  government noted.

Nikol Pashinyan also noted that funds from various sources will be  attracted to pay off the state budget deficit. Thus, the IMF will  provide $ 298 million. The Prime Minister expressed confidence that  there will be no problems with attracting financial resources.  Moreover, the government even has the opportunity to choose the best  proposals.

To recall, the National Assembly of Armenia at an extraordinary  meeting on April 29 approved amendments to the law "On the state  budget of 2020". As RA Minister of Finance Atom Janjughazyan noted  then, the amendments are aimed at solving the problems that arose  with the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the Armenian government  will not try, at its discretion, to revise the state budget  expenditures. In order to ensure the sources of financing available  to the state for the expenditures of the state treasury, not only  loans, but also tax revenues are required. For this reason, as  Janjughazyan noted, all tax obligations will be charged in full. The  exceptional situation obliges the government to take the path of  increasing the deficit of the state budget and increasing the volume  of public debt.

So, according to him, the total deficit will amount to 324 billion  drams, having increased by 169 billion drams compared to the planned  level. The previously planned level was 161 billion drams. Thus, the  total amount of necessary funds to pay off the state budget deficit  will be 260 billion drams. The deficit is seen by the cabinet by  attracting credit resources, issuing government treasury bonds and  next tranches of Eurobonds.

The Minister informed that the International Monetary Fund, which  agreed to provide about $ 300 million to Armenia, will become one of  the sources of financing. As the head of the Ministry of Finance  noted, Armenia is considered by creditors as a stable and dynamically  developing borrowing state. But in the future, the country should  abandon borrowing and become a donor country itself.