ArmInfo.On September 1, 2023, Armenia's Vice-Premier Mher Grigoryan hosted a delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Mr Jihad Azour, Director of the IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department.
Participating in the meeting were also Ms Iva Petrova, IMF Mission Chief for Armenia, and Mr Umang Rawat, IMF Resident Representative in Armenia.
The sides stressed that, despite the difficult period, Armenia has recorded high macroeconomic indicators. The sides highlighted the importance of relevant government-implemented reforms.
The sides also discussed the implementation of the IMF-supported reserve programme and prospects for Armenia's economic development.
On September 1, 2023, Armenia's Vice-Premier Tigran Khachatryan hosted the IMF delegation. He briefed the delegation on the developments in Armenia's economy and medium-term outlook and stressed Armenia's consistent cooperation with the IMF in putting them into practice. The sides highlighted the importance of the IMF-supported reserve programme in the context of ensuring macroeconomic and budget stability, encouraging investments and export-oriented economic growth. The sides expressed their satisfaction with the progress.
The sides also discussed a wide range of issues of bilateral cooperation, including prospects for cooperation with government agencies dealing with fiscal and monetary policy.
On June 12, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the first revision of the current Reserve Program, making 18.4 million special drawing rights (SDRs) available for Armenia, equivalent to about 24.5 million USD. According to IMF representatives, the program is generally in the stage of stable implementation, as of the moment of the review, the targets of fiscal and monetary quantitative indicators have been maintained, and good progress has been made towards the implementation of structural reforms.
IMF experts have highly evaluated the economic performance of Armenia in 2022, highlighting the double- digit (12.6%) economic growth due to the high level of consumption and external demand, as well as large flows of capital and migrants. The improvement of the fiscal position was also highlighted. the budget deficit decreased to 2.1%, and the government debt/GDP ratio decreased by 14% to 46.7%, which was due to the reduction of the deficit, high nominal economic growth and the devaluation of the Armenian dram.
Armenia's economic prospects for 2023 have received a positive assessment from the IMF, despite the presence of global and regional risks. It is anticipated that the GDP growth rate will moderate but remain at a level of 5.5% if there is a high level of consumption and investments. Inflation is also expected to stabilize and remain within the target set by the Central Bank.
It should be noted that the Reserve Program has a preventive nature and aims to ensure the continuity of implementing structural reforms, as well as to support the maintenance of macroeconomic, financial, and fiscal stability.
See more at https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2023/06/12/pr23205-armenia-imf-exec-board- completes-1st-rev-under-stand-by-arrangement
