ArmInfo. Armenian Finance Minister Vahe Hovhannisyan met with a joint mission of representatives of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the French Development Agency (AFD, Agence Francaise de Developpement). During the meeting, the parties discussed a number of important issues related to the 3rd subprogram of the budget support credit program implemented by ADB and AFD.
According to the information from the Ministry of Finance, a number of reforms are envisaged within the framework of the budget support program, including in the areas of fiscal policy and public debt management. The program is aimed at promoting the improvement of financial risk management policies, expansion of financial instruments, and increasing transparency.
During the meeting, the activities of the developed policy for attracting credit funds, the process of their implementation, as well as the expected results were discussed.
The parties emphasized the importance of the measures and reforms envisaged by the Program in terms of promoting economic growth in the Republic of Armenia, noting the importance of continuing effective cooperation in the context of strategic partnership.
Recall that by the end of December 2024, Armenia's public debt in dollar terms increased by approximately $997 million - to $12 billion 842.2 million (from $11 billion 845.4 million by the end of 2023). In dram equivalent, the indicator increased from 4 trillion 794.9 billion to 5 trillion 092.7 billion. In particular, according to the data of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic, over 12 months of 2024, the government debt in American currency increased from $11 billion 294.6 million (404.79 drams per $) to $12 billion 338.2 billion (387.05 drams per $), and in dram equivalent - from 4 trillion 571.9 billion to 4 trillion 892.8 billion drams. The estimated exchange rate of the US dollar was 396.56 drams per $ (404.79 at the end of 2023).
The World Bank remains the largest creditor (external loans) of the Armenian government - the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association account for 37.6% of the RA public debt. The second largest creditor is the Asian Development Bank - 21.2%, the Eurasian Development Bank is in third place - 8.4%, followed by the International Monetary Fund - 3.4%, and the European Investment Bank - 3.1%. External loans from the EU in the structure of external debt amounted to 1.5%, the International Fund for Agricultural Development - 1%, the OPEC Fund for International Development - 3%, and the EBRD - 0.9%. Among the major creditor countries, the Russian Federation is in first place - 5.3% (6.2% by the end of 2023), Germany - 4.5%, Japan - 2.7%, France - 6.7%, China - 0.3%, and the USA - only 0.2% of the government's external debt.
