Armenia`s economy highly resilient despite challenges - Vahe  Hovhannisyan  

ArmInfo.Despite the difficult challenges, joy everyone's joy, the economy of Armenia displayed and continues displaying a fairly high resistance, including the effective macro-economic policies and equivalent actions being continuously implemented by the Government and the Central Bank. The RA Minister of Finance Vahe Hovhannisyan said on November 14, presenting for debate in the National Assembly the draft  law on RA State Budget for 2024.

According to the Minister, the economic growth and activeness rates  continue remaining high. The double- digit economic growth was  preserved in the first half of this year, and by the results of  January-September months, we have 7.0% economic activeness indicat5or  growth. In these conditions the economic growth of 2023 is predicted  within the frameworks of the targeted 7 percent of the Government and  in the conditions of the preserving present tendencies can be more.

In 2024, 7 percent economic growth is also designed, and taxes/GDP  indicator improvement by about 0.75%, as a result of which the tax  revenues will be 2 trillion 566 billion AMD, being more from the tax  revenues of the specified budget of 2023 by 342 billion AMD or by  15.4%.

The expenditures of 2024 will be 3 trillion 17 billion AMD, exceeding  the specified budget expenditures by about 415 billion AMD or by 16%,  from which the capital expenditures will be 695 billion AMD being  more from the capital expenditures of 2023 by 126 billion AMD or by  22%.

In the coming year the budget deficit will be 340 billion AMD or 3.2%  of the GDP, because of which debt/GDP ratio will 48.4% % at the end  of the year 2024.

Vahe Hovhannisyan also presented the support programmes to be  provided to the persons forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh.

Accordingly, 50.000 AMD allocations being provided on apartment rent  and utility services for three months of 2024 (January, February and  March).

"The additional expenditures on pensions and allowances will be  envisaged, which will require additional about 30 billion AMD. The  additional expenditures on education and health will be designed. At  this moment, the housing and employment support programmes will not  be planned by the budget, because their elaboration and approval can  take place at the end of December. Nevertheless, considerable money  will be envisaged in the reserve fund, so we won't have financing  problems just the programmes being ready.

Summing up his speech Vahe Hovhannisyan assured that despite the  regional and global challenges, in 2024, we'll have great  opportunities of the new quality rise of development in the most  different directions.  "Due only to our conscientious and consecutive  actions we'll be able to materialize those opportunities and create  an environment, where on one hand everybody can reveal his/her  talents, on the other hand make our state a desirable place for the  talented people of the world, by that raising the international  reputation of the Republic of Armenia," the Minister of Finance  concluded.